Former US army general says Russia’s army in Ukraine lacks ‘motivated’ soldiers and is ‘poorly led’

• A former US major general called Putin’s army in Ukraine “unmotivated” and “poorly led.”
• “There’s nothing worse in any organization than crappy leadership and that’s exactly what the Russians are displaying,” former US major general James Marks told CNN.
• Ukraine and Russia have been at war for more than three weeks now.

A former US Army general on Saturday characterized Russia’s army in Ukraine as “unmotivated” and “poorly led.”

“What you’re seeing is this Russian army that’s been trying to modernize over the course of the last couple of decades and it’s done a fairly good job of getting the right equipment and capabilities, but they are poorly led,” former US major general James Marks said on CNN. “There’s nothing worse in any organization than crappy leadership and that’s exactly what the Russians are displaying.”

Ukraine and Russia have been at war for more than three weeks now, and there’s no sign of Russia retreating.

So far, more than 3.3 million Ukrainians have fled since the beginning of the invasion, according to data from the United Nations Refugee Agency. Just in the first week alone, more than 1 million Ukrainians left.

Ukrainian soldiers are working to stave off Russian forces from taking control of Kyiv. The city is under curfew, and no one but soldiers is allowed out after 8 p.m. as Russian forces continue to try to advance into the capital. 

Some Ukrainian men have described to Insider how they chose to stay in Ukraine in the event that they are drafted to fight in the war. Ukrainian singer Serge Tiagniryadno, for example, told Insider his family has fled to Poland. But he’s staying in Kyiv “because it’s my city and I’m ready to protect it and I’m not going to let anyone in.”

A New York Times report said Russian commanders didn’t tell soldiers that they would be going into war. Some soldiers felt unprepared and surprised to learn they’d be going into war.

“Their soldiers are unmotivated. They haven’t been able to get out of their vehicles and really kind of exercise and maneuver at a pace and with the momentum they demonstrated they’ve learned anything from their training and they’re now transitioning to a defensive posture which means they’ve culminated,” Marks continued.

“They’re at the end of their logistics, they’ve transitioned to defense, which means they’re incredibly vulnerable and Ukrainians know that,” he said.