- I think it's safe to say that two weeks now
into Russian's invasion of Ukraine
it has not gone as smoothly
and as easily as the Kremlin may have hoped.
Broadly, we've seen Russian military bogged down
with logistical problems,
their troops behind stalled in convoys on roads
as they try to lay siege to major Ukrainian cities.
At the same time, the Russians have apparently been
quite effective in shelling major cities,
including now Kyiv and Mariupol'.
So, two weeks in, we see a campaign
that is not decisively a Russian victory,
but it seems to be reeking havoc on the Ukrainian population
and on its citizens.
- I think it's clear now that they had hoped
to decapitate the Ukrainian government
to avoid fighting in the cities,
to have a lightning strike that would be so intimidating
or so effective that Zelenskyy would surrender or run away.
- We are all here, defending our independence, our state.
It will continue to be so.
- I think they had visions of Ashraf Ghani
running away from Afghanistan in their heads
when they planned this invasion,
and you know, it would be relatively quick.
And if the sanctions would come in response from the West,
but the sanctions would be moderate
because the war itself would be moderate in nature.
That didn't work out at all.
- Well, I think from our reporting we understand
is that Vladimir Putin may have believed,
partly because his advisors told him so,
that the Russian military assault on Ukraine
would be relatively straightforward.
Instead, what we're seeing
is that they broadly underestimated,
I think, the strength of Ukraine's military
in resisting the Russian military,
but also the degree to which
President Zelenskyy became this global force,
really rallying not just world leaders
in levying these historic sanctions against Moscow,
but his own people and encouraging them
to take to the streets,
to do everything that they can possibly
can to resist these Russian invading forces.
- Go home! Go home!
-- Our people, our Ukrainians do not retreat.
Do not give up. Do not stop the resistance.
Shout to the occupiers go home!
- These images of just ordinary Ukrainians
dropping their everyday life
and turning themselves into a kind of resistance force,
I think it's been something that's galvanized
the world spirit, arguably,
behind doing everything they can to assist the Ukrainians,
aid with, you know, public demonstrations of support.
That has not translated, however,
into the kind of military interventions
that President Zelenskyy of Ukraine
wants to see from the West,
particularly from NATO-member countries.
So far, we've seen Western leaders
really steadfastly resisting that
because they do not want to get their countries
pulled into a direct conflict with Russia.
- Let me be clear. - Our forces are not engaged
and will not engage in the conflict
with Russian forces in Ukraine.
- I think that neither side
is going to yield in the short term.
Ukraine has fought well.
It's created a strong national spirit.
I think the country is now very much committed to resistance
and to pushing back against the Russians,
and I think it's a hard moment for them to yield
and to come to the table to compromise.
On the Russian side, they have a lot of firepower.
They have a lot of firepower that they haven't used,
so there's a temptation I think on the Russian side to say,
"Well, if we push harder,
either we can get more at the negotiating table
and we can topple the government and perhaps get everything.
But I think they're starting.
They're starting to yield just a little bit.
Both sides know that they're not going to get a complete victory.
- Well, I think in the short term
you're going to see more of the Russian
shelling and attacks on major cities.
This is part of a Russian strategy,
that again, we've seen in places before,
including Syria where they try and essentially beat populations
into submission and force concessions.
I think we have to wonder though
now how long that is going to last.
That is the harder question because Ukrainians have done
a good job of putting up a fight in defense.
For the near term, I think we'll continue
to see this Russian strategy of hitting the cities,
continuing with these talks
but really not changing their core demands or insistence,
frankly, that Ukraine is not an independent,
sovereign country.