cancel2 2022
Canceled
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The below is an edited transcript of David Petraeus’s interview with CNN’s Jim Sciutto.
On the war’s momentum: It has fundamentally shifted, and I'm normally fairly guarded and cautious about this, but the tide clearly has turned because the success of this offensive, as important as it is itself on the ground, is that it reflects a hugely important development: Ukraine has been incomparably better than Russia in recruiting, training, equipping, organising and employing additional forces. Russia has been struggling to do just that, literally running out of soldiers, ammunition tanks, fighting vehicles and so forth. Ukraine is supported superbly by the US and Nato, whereas Russia, even if it declared mobilisation today, could not reverse this fundamental reality. So the implications are stark. They're very, very clear. Ukraine will over time experience tough fighting, more casualties, more punishing Russian strikes on civilian infrastructure. But Ukraine will over time, I think, retake the territory that Russia has seized since 24 February. And it's even conceivable now that they could retake Crimea and the Donbas. And oh, by the way, with what's going on in the front lines, there is insurgent activity now picking up in the Russian rear areas carried out by Ukrainians there as well. So again, this is going to take time. There will be tough fighting, all of that. But this is a disastrous situation for Russia now.
And I'm not sure that everyone recognises just how much worse it is than Afghanistan. This is going to be a terrible, painful retreat for them. I don't think in doubt any more: Ukraine will prevail unless there's some unforeseen development and as long as we continue to provide the weapons. I'm confident we will continue to do everything that they need to help them build on the momentum that they have now achieved and carry this all the way through to victory, frankly.
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/russia-cannot-generate-the-forces-it-needs
The below is an edited transcript of David Petraeus’s interview with CNN’s Jim Sciutto.
On the war’s momentum: It has fundamentally shifted, and I'm normally fairly guarded and cautious about this, but the tide clearly has turned because the success of this offensive, as important as it is itself on the ground, is that it reflects a hugely important development: Ukraine has been incomparably better than Russia in recruiting, training, equipping, organising and employing additional forces. Russia has been struggling to do just that, literally running out of soldiers, ammunition tanks, fighting vehicles and so forth. Ukraine is supported superbly by the US and Nato, whereas Russia, even if it declared mobilisation today, could not reverse this fundamental reality. So the implications are stark. They're very, very clear. Ukraine will over time experience tough fighting, more casualties, more punishing Russian strikes on civilian infrastructure. But Ukraine will over time, I think, retake the territory that Russia has seized since 24 February. And it's even conceivable now that they could retake Crimea and the Donbas. And oh, by the way, with what's going on in the front lines, there is insurgent activity now picking up in the Russian rear areas carried out by Ukrainians there as well. So again, this is going to take time. There will be tough fighting, all of that. But this is a disastrous situation for Russia now.
And I'm not sure that everyone recognises just how much worse it is than Afghanistan. This is going to be a terrible, painful retreat for them. I don't think in doubt any more: Ukraine will prevail unless there's some unforeseen development and as long as we continue to provide the weapons. I'm confident we will continue to do everything that they need to help them build on the momentum that they have now achieved and carry this all the way through to victory, frankly.
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/russia-cannot-generate-the-forces-it-needs
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