Smoke rises from the territory of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry’s unit, after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a military operation in eastern Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 24, 2022. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

A former Israel Defense Forces soldier currently fighting with the Ukrainian military in the capital city of Kyiv told Israeli news site N12 on Monday that he is shocked by the Russian army’s poor conduct of the war, saying, “they have no motivation and no capabilities.”

The soldier, named only as “Nikolai,” served in Israel’s Givati infantry brigade, and is now fighting in the heart of Kyiv, which the Russian army is still struggling to take in the face of dogged resistance by Ukrainian forces.

“They are not professional at all. What they’re doing looks like a total mess,” Nikolai claimed of the Russian forces. “They have no idea where they’re going, where they’re located, what their mission is — just nothing.”

Despite the heavy fighting in and around Kyiv, he added, “there is no fear. We are a complete team where the majority have already fought the Russians in the past and no one is afraid of them.”

“Right now, we are defending central Kyiv,” Nikolai said. “There was intelligence information that they would try to take over government buildings, but in effect they haven’t gotten close to the outskirts of the city at all.”

“All of their tanks are burning even before they enter the city,” he recounted. “We are also going out to the outskirts of the city to see if they’re approaching. Meanwhile everything is fine and everything is under control.”

“We have equipment, Nikolai added. “In spite of a lack of modern anti-tank missiles, I believe that more supplies will arrive and it will be fine.”

He said that the fighting is very different from his experience with the IDF in Gaza, but he remains confident.

“This is Putin’s last war,” he asserted. “Even if we die, we have already defeated them.”