General of the US Armed Forces David Petraeus joined the online meeting of the Kyiv Security Forum. The general expressed the opinion that the Russian dictator will no longer be able to change the dynamics of the war, which is in an extremely difficult position. Thanks to the international defence assistance and military training that other countries organize for the Ukrainian military, the army of Ukraine has a significantly greater military power than the "second army of the world". This opened up an opportunity for Ukraine to win back its territories and continue counteroffensive actions against the occupiers.
"Russia is now in a difficult situation, Putin cannot do anything to reverse this dynamic. "Referendums" did not lead to anything. The attempt to annex 4 regions is ultimately meaningless, and we see Ukraine liberating these territories," David Petraeus.
General Petrus emphasized that due to the mobilization announced by Putin, more citizens fled abroad than joined the military. And even those who joined the army (voluntarily or forcibly): receive minimal military training (or none at all) and have almost no weapons. In 8 months in Ukraine, the Russian army suffered more losses than in 9 years in the war in Afghanistan.
"That really means tens of thousands of additional soldiers with weapons that could be on the battlefield. But the Ukrainian Forces are now so much more powerful, so much more capable of fighting than the Russians, that they will continue to liberate their territories," the US army general is convinced.
"I don't think that Ukrainian troops will slow down their operational offensive with the arrival of winter. The logistics of the Russians are very weak, the bridges are destroyed, as well as the railway tracks, as on the Crimean bridge," Petraeus. "There are many problems for Russians. Winter is coming. They don't even have enough warm clothes, let alone weapons."
Once again, there are words that the Russian army is demoralized. "They do not understand what they are fighting for. For the most part, representatives of national minorities who were thrown onto the frontline are at the front."
According to the head of the Main directorate of intelligence of the Ministry of defence, Kyryllo Budanov, Ukraine will reach the borders of 1991 by the summer of 2023.
