6-1-22 russia-ukraine war of attrition

When Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, it had hoped to overtake the country in a blitz lasting only days or a few weeks. Many Western analysts thought so, too. Three months later, however, Moscow appears to be bogged down in what increasingly looks like a war of attrition, with no end in sight and few successes on the battlefield.  UW Oshkosh political scientist Michael Jasinski says more recently it appears that Russian forces have been breaking through Ukranian defenses.   “It’s become a battle of attrition and exhaustion, Jasinski told AM 1170s Between the Lines program.”   There was no quick victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s powerful forces that would allow the Kremlin to control most of Ukraine and establish a puppet government. Instead, Russian troops got bogged down on the outskirts of Kyiv and other big cities amid stiff Ukrainian defenses.