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Hostomel Airport: The 36 hours that changed Ukraine
The pivotal turning point in Russia’s invasion
Russian President Vladimir Putin had a plan.
In that plan, he will roll over Ukraine, just like how he rolled over Crimea. A huge opening move, followed by a massive movement of forces and before the world could make heads or tails of what is happening, he will take control of the ground, dig in and dare them to evict his troops.
Since he could always resort to the nuclear threat, he clearly understood that once he stepped foot inside someone else’s house, there wasn’t much the world could do. It always worked in the past and there is no reason to believe that it wouldn’t work in Ukraine.
It almost worked. A motley group of 200 conscripts and barely trained back of the line troops made mince meat of the Russian army’s grandiose plan for swift victory.
The First Day of War Decides the Future
CIA Director Bill Burns told American lawmakers that President Putin wanted to seize “Kyiv within the first two days of the campaign”.
The importance of the initial phase in warfare can never be overstated; it represents a critical window for establishing momentum, employing shock and awe tactics, seizing the…
