The initial assessment of the Russian commanders was that Russia would take control of Ukraine in 10 days. Despite the odds, Ukraine re-configured its forces and adopted the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) practices in its operations since the conflict in Donbas in 2014. Other factors, such as familiarity with the terrain and better intelligence networks, helped Ukrainians push Russian forces back from Sumy, Chernihiv, and Kharkiv. Russian forces achieved some gains in the early days by seizing southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. The Russian offensive was slowed down because of an initial shortage of manpower. Ukrainian forces outnumbered Russian forces, having implemented a general mobilisation across Ukraine on the day of the invasion. Further, Kyiv’s capabilities were bolstered by Western support in the form of weapons and intelligence. For instance, Space X’ universal internet service, Starlink, was provided to the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF), enabling troops to share real-time data anywhere combined with high-precision weapons such as the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) and High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers (see Table 1). This helped Ukraine gain the tactical edge early on in the conflict. Three months into the war, in May 2022, the US Congress also passed the Lend-Lease Act for Kyiv, which granted Ukraine access to American weapons.
Ukrainian forces outnumbered Russian forces, having implemented a general mobilisation across Ukraine on the day of the invasion.
As a result of Western assistance, Russia withdrew from Kherson city, fearing their supply lines being cut off due to Ukrainian bombings of the trans-Dnieper bridges, which was a major victory for Kyiv. The West increased military aid to Ukraine in the form of tanks. Additional units were created and troops were replenished. Kyiv could have inflicted maximum damage on Russian forces during this period, but it missed the opportunity to begin its offensive from Zaporizhzhia to the Sea of Azov to cut Russia’s access in Kherson or continue its offensive in Luhansk. The reason for not doing so was likely Washington's hesitation regarding Ukraine’s capabilities to undertake such an operation.
