The Ukraine war is raging. However, Putin’s army did not achieve a major success – such as the capture of a large city. Also thanks to the “porcupine strategy”.
Hamburg – The Ukraine conflict* has long escalated, for weeks there has been a war in the middle of Europe. However, the “for weeks”, i.e. the accumulated duration of the Russian military incursion into the neighboring country, is exactly the sticking point. There are more and more reports that Vladimir Putin* did not expect to encounter such resistance in Ukraine as he has faced since the invasion began at the end of February.
What’s more, not only is Putin supposed to have expected quick success, his troops have also made little progress for quite some time. The media regularly reports that morale in the Russian troops is beginning to drop*. Recently it was said that the supplies of the Kremlin army * would only last a few days, the losses are said to be quite high. Even an ex-CIA chief is surprised at how many generals the Russian army has already lost. So did Putin miscalculate?
Ukraine war: Expert sees “no easy way out” for Putin – Ukraine tactics work
Quite possible. The Ukrainians around their President Volodymyr Zelenskyj* are primarily responsible for the apparently more critical situation surrounding the troops of the Kremlin despot. The tactical positioning of the Ukrainian army seems to be working perfectly against the supposed Russian superiority. The reason for this is also a special strategy that Florence Gaub, an expert on security policy, expressed in the ZDF talk on “Markus Lanz”. You can also find all the news about what is happening in Ukraine in our live ticker on the Ukraine war.
“It’s not going according to plan in terms of time, it’s not going according to plan politically,” explains Gaub in the expert panel and raises the question: “How does Putin get out of there now?”. Gaub gives the answer himself – and it should coincide with the opinion of many viewers: “I think there is no easy way out for him”. What the Russian troops need is a great victory, the capture of a major city, for example. This is exactly where Ukraine’s plan has worked so far: “The Ukrainians have the better strategy,” says Gaub – and brings a special term into play: the “porcupine strategy”.
Ukraine war: cheap, fast, successful – expert explains Ukrainian “porcupine strategy”
There is obviously a metaphor behind this. For the time being, the association with the porcupine inevitably falls on terms such as unpleasant or resilient – so it fits in with the Ukrainian defense strategy. Gaub explains the goal behind it at Lanz: “They just have to deny the Russians their victory. The Russians must not take any important cities”. A project that of course sounds easier than it is, but according to Gaub it is “the cheaper and faster” warfare.
Specifically, Gaub is less interested in a city like Mariupol, which caused a stir after an attack on a children’s hospital, than in strategically important places like Odessa or Kyiv. “If you’ve ever tried to touch a porcupine, it hurts a lot,” says Gaub, who continues: “And that’s exactly what the Ukrainians are doing right now. They are making it very painful, very difficult for the Russians to even move forward into Ukraine.”
Ukraine war: is the strategy working? The “porcupine” stabs back
And indeed, the strategy seems to be working so far. Russian troops have been in front of the capital for a long time, but because of the fierce resistance of the Ukrainians, they are unable to advance to Kyiv*. Most recently, the Zelenskyi army even reported that it had recaptured a suburb of the city. So the “porcupine” continues to back down – and the longer it does so, the more trouble Putin gets with his war strategy.
Meanwhile, the “porcupine strategy” is not the only tactic that Gaub explained in the Lanz Talk. The security expert also spoke there about the fear strategy that Vladimir Putin is trying to establish. (han) *Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
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