Russia will be able to overrun Ukraine in two days and an invasion would kill 50,000 civilians, warns US intelligence. By Nick Enoch.

Russia would be able to overrun Ukraine in just two days in an invasion that could kill 50,000 civilians, according to US intelligence.

Western intelligence assessments also believe Kyiv’s government would fall within that timeframe, and lead to a humanitarian crisis involving around 5million refugees. …

It comes as US military and intelligence officials believe Russia is set to run a major nuclear weapons exercise in the coming weeks as a warning to Nato not to intervene in the event of Putin invading Ukraine

The US intelligence community is notorious for putting forward the view that brings them the most power and resources, but it’s still probably wise to pay attention.

On paper, Ukrainian forces are big enough that Russia shouldn’t be able to beat them within many months, let alone in two days. But French forces in 1940 on paper were bigger and had better equipment than the German forces. Yet the Germans out-thought the French, showed more spirit, and took meth to give them extra energy for the crucial days — and the rest is history.