(UnitedVoice.com) – For nearly six months, the United States and NATO watched as Russian President Vladimir Putin assembled a massive military influence along the Ukrainian border. For months, Putin warned that he would not allow Ukraine to become a member country of NATO, despite Ukraine’s insistence it wanted membership in the Western military alliance.
If Russia invaded, many military analysts believed it would be an easy win for Russia. It hasn’t worked out that way. Instead, Putin may have picked the wrong country to mess with despite Ukraine’s inferior military. What it lacks in technology, it appears to make up for in courage.
Can the Underdog Survive?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is becoming an international superstar as his underdog country fights to survive the Russian onslaught. On Wednesday, March 3, a Ukrainian sniper allegedly killed Russian Major Gen. Andrey Sukhovetsky. He was the highest-ranking member of the Russian military killed to date by the Ukrainians trying to defend their homeland.
Sukhovetsky was a highly decorated veteran who served in several combat deployments during the Chechen War, Abkhazia, and Syria. The Russian military awarded him a special commendation for his role in Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
In addition to Sukhovetsky, on Saturday, March 5, the Kremlin acknowledged Ukraine killed 500 Russian soldiers in action and another 1,600 were injured. Ukraine alleges Russia has suffered 9,000 casualties.
Zelenskyy Survives Kill Squads
It appears not everyone in the Russian military is on board with the invasion of Ukraine. Reports say some Russian soldiers are surrendering in large numbers. Others are sabotaging their vehicles. On Sunday, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian citizens have taken up arms and are defending and holding their positions against the superior Russian army.
On March 1, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov said Russian security forces friendly to Ukraine provided intel about two elite Chechen death squads sent by Putin to kill Zelenskyy. The Ukrainians neutralized each team but couldn’t confirm how many assassins were killed or captured. The threat may still exist because a ruthless Russian mercenary force is supposedly also on the hunt with orders to assassinate Zelenskyy.
Danilov said the people of Ukraine would not give up their country or their president. He told the Russians Ukraine was their land and to leave.
So, as America participates through economic sanctions and other passive means from afar to help Ukraine, it appears, so far, Ukrainians are the underdog story of the 21st century.
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