The 5 Biggest Miscalculations Russia Made in Its War on Ukraine

There’s a fine line between confidence and catastrophe. Russia, once the proud chess grandmaster of geopolitics, stepped onto the world stage in 2022 thinking it was about to pull off the greatest power move of the 21st century. Instead, it tripped over its own shoelaces, face-planted into a pile of sanctions, and somehow ended up in a geopolitical blooper reel that historians will giggle at for generations.

Here’s a look at the five biggest miscalculations Russia made in its war on Ukraine — a strategic disaster so spectacular that even Napoleon would shake his head in disbelief.

The 72-Hour Victory That Turned Into a Never-Ending Headache

Ah yes, the infamous “three-day war.” Moscow’s top brass confidently predicted that Ukraine would fold faster than a cheap lawn chair. The plan? Roll tanks into Kyiv, have a nice little victory parade, and maybe even grab some souvenir fridge magnets.

Reality had other plans.

Not only did Ukraine not surrender, but it also responded with a military resistance so fierce that Russian forces found themselves bogged down like a Lada stuck in a Siberian snowstorm. The “quick war” turned into a grinding, drawn-out conflict, making Russia look less like a fearsome…