British defense chief says Russia could lose war in Ukraine | Eastern NC 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