We ask an expert why the Russian army is struggling and how the war could progress.

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Soldiers with Ukraine’s 55th Separate Artillery Brigade clean and carried out maintenance on an M777 howitzer in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, on Sunday, May 22, 2022. The most lethal weapons the West has provided so far to Ukraine are now deployed in combat, and they have buoyed the Ukraine army’s hopes for victory.  (Ivor Prickett/The New York Times)
Soldiers with Ukraine’s 55th Separate Artillery Brigade clean and carried out maintenance on an M777 howitzer in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, on Sunday, May 22, 2022. The most lethal weapons the West has provided so far to Ukraine are now deployed in combat, and they have buoyed the Ukraine army’s hopes for victory. (Ivor Prickett/The New York Times)

It is a war that Putin and western analysts predicted would be over within days, but three months down the line, fighting still rages on in Ukraine.

And despite making gains in eastern Ukraine, the Russian Army is performing much worse than many expected.

On today’s episode of The Irish Times In the News podcast, Jennifer Ryan speaks to an expert, Phillips O’Brien, a professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

Jennifer Ryan

Jennifer Ryan is a former audio producer at The Irish Times