Until the recent setbacks in Ukraine and particularly the fall of Lyman, the dominant tone of Russia’s information policy was set by Vladimir Putin, who assured his countrymen that everything was going according to plan. The following analysis by military expert Vsyevolod Melnikov concedes things didn’t go according to plan literally from day one. Melnikov warns Russian society to steel itself for further setbacks and difficult scenes of Russian surrenders and Ukrainian breakthroughs.
Society must be patient until the various factors that will turn the tide in Russia’s favor manifest themselves. Furthermore, Russian society cannot leave everything to the government and expect results. Instead, they should take a cue from Ukraine, where society is fully mobilized and even school children are involved in sewing nets for Ukrainian armor.
Melnikov’s exhortation to Russian society follows below:[1]
Ukrainian armor prepared for final assault on Lyman (Source: Eadaily.com)
The [Russo-Ukrainian] war is very challenging. It’s the most difficult war for modern Russia. There has never been a war of such a magnitude.
Things didn’t go according to plan literally from day one. Expecting the ZSU to lay down their arms, our troops busted into Kharkiv in columns. There we lost many… We couldn’t take the enemy in one swoop, we had to regroup. This was the first serious blow to Russian society – the first but not the last.