How Ukraine’s mud became a secret weapon in its defense against Russia

A member of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces stands on a damaged Russian tank on the outskirts of Nova Basan village in Ukraine on April 01, 2022. Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24 coincided with what’s known locally as the “muddy road season,” or “Rasputitsa” in Russian.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February, its military commanders were widely seen to have discounted one very unconventional but effective weapon: the muddy season.

The timing of Russia's invasion was close to what is known as the "muddy road season" in Russian. When the winter freeze ends and the country's terrain and unpaved roads turn to mud, it's a phenomenon that happens twice a year.

Military experts believe that the mud slowed Russia's advance in parts of the country. There are images and video on the internet showing Russian tanks, trucks, and other armored vehicles abandoned on muddy roads in Ukraine.

Russia analysts and military experts said that Russia's military commanders should have been better prepared for the conditions on the ground.

In 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Russia was slowed by the mud, as were Hitler's armies, which invaded the Soviet Union in 1941.

A photo taken in the spring of 1942 of German army vehicles on muddy terrain in Ukraine, then a part of the Soviet Union.

Russia's military should have known what the conditions would be like, experts said.

This has been known about for hundreds of years, and Napoleon had this problem. It is a tactical feature that is beneficial for the Ukrainians and it was particularly important in the north where it is a lot more wooded.

Russia was thought to have a quick victory in Ukraine. The country faced strong resistance from Ukrainian forces, which Western allies helped to equip with weaponry.

Prior to the invasion, Russia had amassed over 100,000 troops along its border with Ukraine and had carried out military drills with its ally, Belarus. Moscow insisted that it had no plans to invade.

Russian and Belarusian armed forces conduct joint military drills on Feb. 12, 2022. Despite such military exercises ahead of the invasion, military analysts have said the first phase of the war showed a lack of planning, preparedness and tactical skill among Russia’s military command and soldiers, many of whom are conscripts.

The first phase of the war has seen Russia gain ground in the south and east of the country, but fail to make headway in the north, despite the military exercises ahead of the invasion.

Russia's inability to deal with Ukraine's muddy season shows real issues with the professionalism of the military.

It raises real questions for me because the Russians have been doing military drills and practicing foreign invasions for almost a decade.

According to U.S. intelligence, Russia wanted to invade Ukraine earlier in the year but was held back by China, which wanted the Beijing Winter Olympics to go on.

Ukrainian soldiers examine a seized Russian tank at a woodland in Irpin, Ukraine, on April 01, 2022.

Sam Cranny-Evans, a research analyst at the U.K. defense think tank RUSI, told CNBC that most of Russia's military vehicles would have been able to cope with the mud in Ukraine, but problems had arisen from multiple vehicles using the same tracks.

He said that a lot of their vehicles would be fine moving through mud if they didn't drive through the same track.

He said that other things limited their maneuver more in terms of their reliance on railheads and roads.

The second phase of the war is currently playing out in the Donbas and along the Black Sea, and many of these units have since beaten a tactical retreat to focus on eastern and southern regions.