Russia is 'running out of time, ammunition, and manpower' as Ukraine invasion stalls: retired general
The Russian military's invasion of Ukraine has shocked military analysts who expected a far more competent strategy and more effective tactics.
Writing on the website of the Center for European Policy Analysis, Ret. Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges argues Russia realistically has ten days to turn its war effort around because the Russian military is "running out of time, ammunition, and manpower" to get the job done.
When it comes to ammunition shortages, Hodges says that the collapse of Russia's initial military strategy has led to serious problems in keeping its forces maintained.
"Their transition to attrition warfare is driving up consumption rates beyond what they had planned and what they can sustain," he writes. "They will still have a lot of the conventional artillery and so-called dumb bombs. But as we know from past US military operations, the most sophisticated munitions are very expensive and so more limited in availability."
But even more than lacking ammunition, Hodges believes that Russia lacks time.
"The time challenge for Russia is not just military," he writes. "The effects of sanctions are growing — Russia may soon default on $150bn of foreign currency debt —and Russian domestic resentment is also growing (we should remember that it’s unusual as well as extreme brave for ordinary people to protest in Putin’s Russia and for television editors to suddenly interrupt their own programs waving anti-war placards.)"