Former Uk Ambassador To Russia Says Russians Are Shocked To Learn Their Country Has An Inept Military

The Russians are shocked to see their army being so “incompetent,” said the former British ambassador to Russia. Sir Andrew Wood said Russian citizens would have “relied” on their army’s rapid victory in Ukraine. On the contrary, the situation “is such a terrible shock for them,” he said.

The former British ambassador to Russia said that Russian citizens were shocked that the country’s army was “incompetent” during the invasion of Ukraine. Sir Andrew Wood, who was the UK’s ambassador to Yugoslavia from 1985 to 1989 and to Russia from 1995 to 2000, made the remarks to Sky News on Tuesday. “It was a shock to the Russians to reveal that they are so militarily incompetent,” he said. He added that the Russians would believe that their army would be able to quickly occupy Ukraine and that Russia could then dominate it – a scenario that has not been carried out about 40 days later. “It’s also a complete contradiction to what they not only expected, but relied on – it was not just the speed of their victory, they assumed, but that it would then be possible for them, in fact, to rule Ukraine. “ Wood also said he believed a large number of Russians believed the allegations of war crimes against Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite state censorship over the invasion. “I think a large percentage of the Russian people will suspect that this is true and that any kind of emotional force will make them very, very anxious to deny it,” he said. “They had a lot of confidence in their armed forces, more confidence in them than the government in general. “And that is such a terrible shock for them.” The United States and the United Kingdom, as well as other Western countries, have shared estimates that Russia expects rapid progress in its occupation of Ukraine. Instead, Russia’s efforts have stalled amid fierce Ukrainian resistance and apparent problems with logistics, planning and coordination between Russian forces. Ukraine has also recaptured some areas from Russian forces. Russia has also suffered heavy casualties from its troops, including a large number of generals. Read the original article in Business Insider