By Uzogara Tobechukwu.
Comparing the intense preparation heralding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with the shoddy manner with which she is pulling out of the battlefields, it’s unmistakably clear that Russia was overrated!
With her defense budget of 62 billion dollars and a military strength stretching to over a million active and reserved soldiers, no one believed that Russia would fight in Ukraine for 39 days without taking any major city, let alone removing the government in Ukraine’s capital, Kiev. No one saw this coming. Incidentally, that has just happened.
By withdrawing its troops from Kiev and other parts of Ukraine after losing more than 5000 soldiers, hundreds of tanks, aircraft, and other military hardware, Russia has lost its respect. Her feeble threat of continuous military operations in Eastern Ukraine clearly looks like a face-saving measure. Russia under President Putin is now the laughing stock of Europe!
Personally, I’ve learned something from this war – never to say never until it is over! The test of a gallant soldier is not before but after the war. Surely, President Zelensky of Ukraine has proven himself to be that man who stood up to a Big Bad Billy and will forever be remembered for his valour and a great sense of mobilization.
Truly, one’s background should never be used to judge leadership capabilities. While serving army generals would have cracked before the threat of an invading Russia, a comedian-turned-president has surprisingly stood his ground and pushed the invaders to their fall!
