As Russia sets sights on seaport Odesa, we should 'be done underestimating Ukrainians': Gen. Keane
Strategist predicts a strong defense of the seacoast.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ukraine's military has defied all expectations in its fight against the Russian invasion, even as the Kremlin sets its sights on essentially landlocking the country, retired Gen. Jack Keane told Fox News.
In an interview airing Sunday on "Life, Liberty & Levin", Keane, a Fox News senior strategic analyst and chairman of the Institute for the Study of War, told host Mark Levin that in some ways Vladimir Putin's military is telegraphing similar tactics it used when it first invaded Ukraine from the north as it tries to seal up its southern maritime region.
Many of the military vehicles closing in on the key port of Odesa and other regional cities are wheeled and are not tracked vehicles like tanks.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Therefore, Keane said, the Russians are relegating themselves to a "roadbound" circumstance, which may leave them exposed or easily tactically predictable.
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
"I'm convinced [the Russians] haven't really done the training to do armored warfare, which is high-end conventional warfare where you're out in formations and changing based on what your enemy is doing, supported by artillery, supported by airpower," he added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"And I think, despite the Russians gathering and consolidating their forces here, I think the Ukrainians are going to give them a hell of a tough fight -- And there's no certainty that the Russians are going to be able to accomplish what they want here in the south."
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Russian President Vladimir Putin (Reuters)
Keane reiterated that Russia seeks to control Ukraine's coast, which would even further put a crunch on key global exports like sunflower oil and various cereal grains, affecting markets worldwide. That move, too, he noted, would be "economically devastating" to Ukraine itself.
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"That would turn Ukraine into a landlocked nation and cut off them from the sea," he said. However, Keane added, Ukraine will put up a worthy fight.
"I am done underestimating these Ukrainians. They have the skill. They have the will. They've got the leaders, and they are determined -- and with the proper equipment in their hands, they are going to do very well here," he concluded.