Russia's war against Ukraine at critical stage - Foreign intelligence
Russia's war against Ukraine at critical stage (photo: Getty Images)
Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, which has been going on for 21 months, has entered a critical period, states the Chief of Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service Oleksandr Lytvynenko, in his blog.
In his opinion, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin believes that by failing to defeat Ukraine in three days in a large-scale war, the Kremlin has passed the point of no return in its relations with the West.
"There is no way back, Putin can only win triumphantly or lose crushingly," Lytvynenko said.
According to him, Putin is convinced that "Ukraine and the rest of the 'historical Russian lands' can be returned and the empire can be restored only within the framework of a global redistribution of the world."
Such a redistribution could take 10-15 years and be accompanied by conflicts of varying scale and intensity, possibly with the use of nuclear weapons.
"At the same time, the war against Ukraine is currently perceived by the Kremlin as an important, but not the only, front for the Russian Federation, which is waging a world war with the United States and the West as a whole," the chief of foreign intelligence added.
Lytvynenko also noted that Putin's goals are unchanging. The dictator needs as much of Ukraine's territory as he can get, because, for Russians it is about "returning the native Russian lands."
"The war has entered the stage of attrition. There is more and more evidence that the Kremlin is ready to wage war for as long as it takes. The Russian Federation is already incorporating the so-called "special military operation" factor into the plans for the 2024-2025 recruitment of the Russian Armed Forces," he said.
According to him, the Kremlin believes it has enough resources (military, technical, economic, and human) to fight Ukraine at the current level for a long time. At the same time, Moscow is convinced that Ukraine's internal resources are allegedly "approaching complete exhaustion."
At what stage is Russia's war against Ukraine?
Recently, the Head of the President's Office, Andriy Yermak, said that it is not known when the war in Ukraine against the Russian invaders will end. At the same time, if we compare it to a 100-meter race, the Armed Forces have already covered 70 meters.
Yermak also expressed the opinion that the next year will be decisive in the full-scale war, and a turning point is already approaching.
According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine is in the last stage of the war, but it may be the most difficult. However, military experts have different opinions about the actual stage of the war.
We should add that recently, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that Russia does not intend to stop its large-scale military aggression against Ukraine, and the war may continue for quite some time. Western countries should continue to support the counteroffensive operations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
