The next 10 days will decide Russia’s war against Ukraine, ex-chief of US Army Europe says

Russia's effort to conquer Ukraine may culminate within the next 10 days.

Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, ex-commander of United States Army Europe, who now holds the Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) has expressed this opinion.

The expert believes that Russia no longer has the time, ammunition, and manpower to win the war against Ukraine. The indications of that are as follows:

• Ammunition shortages

Ben Hodges says Russia's "transition to attrition warfare is driving up consumption rates beyond what they had planned and what they can sustain." Russians no longer have sophisticated munitions since they're very expensive and limited in availability. And now they asking China for military assistance says they know they're in trouble. Moreover, sanctions helped stop munition import to Russia.

• Manpower shortages

"Russia's dilemma is only worsened by its combat casualties," Lieutenant General Ben Hodges stresses. The current number of Russia's losses is very high for just the first two weeks of the war, especially with Russia's elite units involved that are hard to replace, the expert believes. 

Ben Hodges says, "The modern battlefield is extremely lethal, especially for poorly trained or disciplined soldiers." The expert alludes to Russia's next intake of conscripts into the Russian Army aged 18-25. Reports of low morale, dissension between commanders, desertion, and also attempts to gather some mercenaries from Syria within the first weeks indicate major manpower problems. 

The expert believes, now is the time to intensify the information front to bypass the Russian blackout on journalism and social media, and urges all the parties "to push the gas pedal to the floor now, immediately" to stop the war.