Russian President Vladimir Putin surprisingly admitted to mistakes and abuses in the Ukraine war. An ex-CIA analyst sees a calculus behind it.
Frankfurt – That in Russia in the background of Ukraine wartalking about one’s own mistakes or admitting a lack of weapons is extremely rare. Shortly after the start of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, such statements came as a complete surprise from the Kremlin boss of all people Wladimir Putin came.
Ukraine war: Putin suddenly admits mistakes
Putin spoke of mistakes on Wednesday (June 14). in the defense of the southern border region between Russia and Ukraine. There, Russian rebels from Ukraine had attacked the Belgorod region and taken territory under their control. In addition, the Russian ruler emphasized that although precision missiles and drones are available, they are not available in sufficient numbers. Russia’s initial rhetoric that everything was going according to plan and that there were no problems has now probably changed at the Kremlin level as well.
Steve Hall, a security analyst and former CIA officer where he oversaw operations in Russia, provided on the network CNN an explanation. “It is clear that the sanctions are having an effect,” Hall said. Since the beginning of the war, both the EU as well as the USA imposed sanctions on Russian industry several times. This puts a heavy strain on the capabilities of the Russian war machine.
War in Ukraine: Putin worries about his own political survival
Because of the sanctions, Russia cannot purchase the necessary electronic components for high-tech weapons, the American security analyst explained. The interesting question, however, is rather why Putin is suddenly expressing the fact of the lack of weapons publicly. Hall emphasized that there are very many Russian heads of state who have not remained at the top after a lost or stalled war.
“I wonder if Putin thinks about it,” Hall said. The following goes through the head of the Kremlin chief: “I will not win, at best I can hope for a draw, for a frozen conflict, but how am I supposed to survive politically if that happens?” It is therefore possible, that Putin is preparing the Russian people for this possibility and working out a kind of “soft landing” for himself.
Hall also underscored that Putin has his “primary enemy,” the Nato, united as never before by its war of aggression. “He’s probably thinking, ‘Well, how do I get out of here if I can’t win and it doesn’t look like I can win,'” the ex-CIA official observed. (bb)
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