For over seven months now, the world has been witnessing the dismantling of one of international community’s great myths: That Russia has a powerful and competent military.
The idea likely came from Hollywood, if we’re being honest, as Cold War-themed films almost always portrayed the Soviet Union’s troops as cold-blooded, heartless killers who were impossible to defeat.
In reality, it turns out that Russia’s troops are barely interested in war at all, and have now been seen dropping their rifles and running for their lives in Ukraine.
Russian soldiers dropped their rifles and fled villages disguised as locals after Ukraine recaptured hundreds of square miles of territory in the Kharkiv region, according to multiple reports.
Ukrainian forces, backed by increasingly powerful Western weapons, have recaptured the majority of the eastern Kharkiv region in a surprise counteroffensive.
Much of the region had been occupied by Russian troops in the initial offensive beginning in February that brought Russian troops within a few kilometers of key cities like Kharkiv and Kyiv.
Russia simply wasn’t ready.
The pace of the counter-attack caught Russian soldiers off guard, according to local residents in Zaliznychne, a tiny village 37 miles east of Kharkiv, who spoke to The Washington Post.
Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin has been facing increasing criticism from his citizens due to the invasion, and these massive military losses will likely embolden his detractors even further.
