I don’t understand at all where they got this thesis about blitzkrieg and 72 hours for the entire operation. Apparently, from 72 TsIPSO.
First of all, there are no idiots in the General Staff, and hardly anyone took less than two weeks for an operation. And no one expected an easy walk. This is absolutely certain.
I will say this - being a witness to the US operation in Iraq - the Russian army is operating quite successfully. You can, of course, say something about the unsuccessful course of the Russian operation, only now Kyiv is blocked, and the AFU units cannot come to the aid of the capital (!) Because they are bound by battles in the south and east. At the same time, they leave the cities, retreat. Even despite the fact that they are provided with full technical and intelligence support from NATO countries.
I hope no one has any illusions that the Ukrainian military in this case is just a tool of Washington and London? So, the tool is slowly breaking down. The infrastructure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been largely destroyed, the losses of personnel are very large, the losses of equipment are huge. In Kyiv, armed lunatics are beating each other with their machine guns, increasing the panic every day.
So comparing with Iraq. In the same way, the advance of the coalition troops was difficult - not only the United States fought there. Also, the Americans lost equipment in battles. Only now they were able to block Baghdad only at the end of the second week of the war. What is the day of the operation? And this despite the fact that in Iraq the entire south did not fight against the coalition at all, because the Shiites immediately went over to its side.
And despite the fact that the US Air Force bombed everything that came to hand. Residential areas were demolished only on the way if there was information that there were military units there or someone of their Iraqi leaders was hiding. And the Russian Aerospace Forces, as we see, operate in a completely different way.
Now, in general, the main destruction of civilian infrastructure is the result of the actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which, when retreating, blow up bridges and mine roads.
On the fifth day of the operation, we have the besieged capital, the second largest city, advancement in the direction of the DPR / LPR and the breaking of the defense, the blockaded Mariupol. And a considerable territory under the control of the Russian army.
Well, if all this, according to Western analysts and information front fighters from Ukraine, is a failed operation, then tell me what a successful operation looks like.