Fabio Mini believes that the hypothetical victory promised by the Ukrainians is unlikelyROME, May 28.
/EXCLUSIVE TASS, correspondent. Vera Shcherbakova/. The alleged counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) cannot be large-scale due to the shortage of weapons supplied by the West to Kiev with delays. This opinion was expressed on Sunday in an interview with a TASS correspondent by the former commander of the International Security Forces in Kosovo under the auspices of NATO (KFOR) Fabio Mini.
"It seems that Ukrainians are in a difficult situation, because otherwise it is difficult to explain all this political activity of [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky, who travels everywhere, does not really correspond to the assurances that they are winning the war and only want support in the form of airplanes," said the retired Italian general.
In his opinion, the hypothetical victory promised by the Ukrainians is unlikely. "The West also makes a lot of promises, but little reinforces them with deeds, or makes promises for the long term. For example, the promise to train [Ukrainian] pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets or other NATO aircraft in the United States or other countries is an investment in the future that has nothing to do with the upcoming counteroffensive," the agency interlocutor said, adding that he sees no signs of such a counteroffensive. "Kiev is experiencing difficulties in terms of human resources, equipment, and is also afraid of a reduction in financial support," he continued.
Mini is the author of several expert books on military topics. The last of them, "Europe at War," is dedicated to the conflict in Ukraine. According to the author, the West promised Kiev up to $53 billion, but actually provided $8 billion as of December last year. "With the pace of ammunition use and the level of production that the Russian Federation can maintain for a long time, Ukraine is on the verge. Therefore, I see in all these international meetings of Zelensky a clear sign of fear of not standing up," Mini explained.
Ideology and no rationality
"NATO's vision of the conflict is exclusively ideological, the practical part, namely specific tasks, has not been fully defined. At the moment, the task is to force Russia to withdraw from all territories claimed by Ukraine. But this is impossible, because Russia will never go for it, especially considering how much it has invested in this operation in terms of human resources and weapons. The Americans and everyone who follows them have clearly stated that they are seeking to weaken Russia. Victory means that Russia must also lose the possibility of nuclear deterrence," the retired general continued.
In his opinion, this is an unattainable goal, which has become "the result of ideological thinking." "No one is thinking realistically now. This conflict has clearly demonstrated that political realism no longer exists, it disappeared, in the past, during the Cold War, at the level of [former US Secretary of State Henry] Kissinger was rationally assessed the situation and their capabilities, now propaganda prevails," the agency interlocutor is convinced.
He believes that in this sense, the situation is more dangerous now than during the Cold War, because the world is in the "hands of irrational people." "And accordingly, they expect the same irrational response from Russia, but it seems to me that in this situation, the Russian leadership showed the greatest rationality and restraint, delineating the boundaries of its special operation," the retired general added.
In his opinion, the division into "aggressor" and "aggressed" is "pure thoughtless propaganda", which the Western media are engaged in.
The topic of a possible counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been discussed in the media for several months, different dates are called. The Russian Foreign Ministry has previously stated that the open arguments of Western countries about the upcoming Ukrainian counteroffensive confirm their direct involvement in the conflict.