October 05, 2022

Putin Faces Limits of His Military Power as Ukraine Recaptures Land

Source: The Washington Post

Journalist: Paul Sonne

How much territory the Russians lose before the reinforcements arrive isn’t entirely down to Moscow. Ukraine has been beating back the Russians on two major fronts for more than a month. It is unclear how long Ukrainian forces, which are suffering losses of their own, can sustain the push.

“One of the hardest things to know is when to stop,” said Christopher Doherty, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. “Just as you’ve made this huge gain, you’ve stretched all of your logistical line, many people have been in combat for days on end. There is a psychological bump you get from winning and being on the offensive, but everybody runs out of juice at some point.”

At the moment, Ukraine is keeping up its momentum. In the east, its forces wrested back the city of Lyman over the weekend and are advancing into the occupied Luhansk region. The Ukrainian counteroffensive in the south, meanwhile, has quickened in recent days, with forces moving down the Dnieper River toward Kherson.

Read the full story and more from The Washington Post.

Author

  • Chris Dougherty

    Former Senior Fellow, Defense Program

    Chris Dougherty is a former Senior Fellow for the Defense Program at CNAS. His primary areas of research included defense strategy, operational concepts, and force planning. H...