Russia has defense flaws in war against Ukraine, professor tells CNN

ESPM International Relations professor Leonardo Trevisan, in an interview with CNN Behind the Scenes analyzed the current situation of the war in Ukraine, highlighting Russia’s defensive failures and the imbalance of forces between the countries involved in the conflict.

According to Trevisan, Ukraine surprised Russia with a strategic advance in an unexpected border region, using elite troops.

“Ukraine carried out a coup that is essentially media-driven, it advanced high up on a border that Russia never expected, in the Kursk region, which is a historic region, and carried out an incursion with elite troops,” explained the expert.

Imbalance of forces

Despite Ukraine’s initial success, the professor highlighted the significant imbalance between the two countries’ forces.

“There is an imbalance of power, Russia has a very powerful population, men and weapons, Ukraine has less,” said Trevisan.

The expert highlighted the population difference between the countries as a crucial factor: “Ukraine’s population is 44 million, Russia’s population is 140 million, so when you look at this, you see that Russia has a much larger reserve for this process.”

Future perspectives

Trevisan pointed out that, historically, Russia tends to fail in its initial defense, but reorganizes later.

“Russia traditionally fails in its defense, this is historical, it happened again, the war starts, it fails, the problem is in continuity,” he explained.

The professor warned that international institutes indicate a likely Russian reorganization, while Ukraine may face limitations in its offensive capabilities.

“All international institutes point to the same fact, Russia will, in some way, reorganize itself and Ukraine has no strength, in fact Zelensky himself says he has no intention of occupying the Russian region, he does not have the strength for that”, concluded Trevisan.

Finally, the expert highlighted that both sides of the conflict are paying close attention to the outcome of the American elections, suggesting that the outcome of the election in the United States could significantly influence the course of the war.