British defense chief says Russia could lose war in Ukraine | Eastern North Carolina Now

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the UK's Chief of the Defense Staff, has predicted that Russia could lose the war in Ukraine, saying that Russia's troops ''were in a mess'' and the invasion ''is not going well'' for Putin.  He pointed to the Russians being bogged down, some of their elite lead elements "decimated" by the Ukrainians, and a question of how long Russia could sustain a war at this level.

In other developments, there have been two incidents of Russia agreeing to a ceasefire for a refugee corridor so civilians could leave, in Mariupol and in a town north of Kiev,  where in both cases the Russians resumed shelling soon after the civilians started to leave, a major war crime.  Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court at The Hague have already opened a war crimes investigation against Russia.  Nearly 20,000 foreign citizens have applied to go and fight for Ukraine, the oldest being a 72-year old retired British colonel who previously commanded the famed Coldstream Guards regiment.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10583981/Russian-forces-decimated-says-UK-general.html

In a remarkable poll conducted in Ukraine by British businessman, philanthropist, and pollster Lord Ashcroft, Ukrainians clearly showed an intent to stay and fight.  85% of men and 63% of women said they would be willing to take up arms or had already done so to defend their country.  40% said they felt unsafe during the day and 58% felt unsafe at night.  92% had a favorable view of President Zelensky.  68% thought sanctions would bring the war to an end.  58% thought the war would be over by the end of March, and 14% thought it would be over in three months.  86% said they thought Ukraine should join NATO but 68% were willing to accept a ban on joining NATO if that would end the war.  78% said they would accept recognizing Crimea as part of Russia if that would end the war but  98% of Ukrainians, including 82% of Ukrainians of Russian ethnicity said that they did not accept the notion that any part of Ukraine belonged to Russia.  93% overall, including 78% of Ukrainians of Russian ethnicity believed Ukraine's future lay with Europe rather than Russia.

https://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2022/03/lord-ashcroft-what-ukrainians-think-about-the-war-putin-russians-nato-membership-europe-and-britain-a-remarkable-poll-from-kiev.html