Ukraine Russia being backed into T


he Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022 and is likely to continue into 2023 and beyond. Here Philip Ingram, who had a long and senior career in British Military Intelligence, reviews the conflict to date and provides his insights into what might happen next


Putin’s aim when he started his Special Military Operation in February was to topple the increasingly West-leaning Zelensky


government. His secondary aim was to open a land bridge between Crimea, annexed in 2014, and Russia, via what has become known as the disputed Donbas Region.


With vastly superior troop numbers on paper, and different command structures, Putin launched his attacks and plucky Ukraine, war- hardened by eight years of fighting Russian backed separatists in the east and emboldened by Western training and weapons such as the UK’s NLAW anti-tank missile, defended.


Militarily, Russia was found wanting: their command and control was poor, their equipment unreliable, logistics and troop motivation close to non-existent. Their ability to conduct what are known as combined arms operations, fighting tanks, infantry, artillery, and airpower together, proved impossible, embarrassing many western analysts but embarrassing the Russian military and political leaderships more.


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© CITY SECURITY MAGAZINE – WINTER 2022


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