Washington CNN —Russia’s military is divided over how best to counter Ukraine’s unexpected battlefield advances this month, according to multiple sources familiar with US intelligence, as Moscow has found itself on the defensive in both the east and the south. It’s not clear that the mobilization will make any operational difference on the battlefield, or merely prolong the length of the war without changing the outcome, according to Russian military analysts. Already, there has been a reshuffling of military leadership in response to the battlefield failures – leaving Russia’s command structure even more jumbled than it was before, sources say. Russia’s military has “poor unit cohesion, desertions in the ranks, soldiers not wanting to fight,” Kirby said. Russia’s longstanding failures in planning, communications and logistics have been compounded by punishing losses in its retreat from around Kharkiv, sources said.

Source: CNN September 23, 2022 06:00 UTC