American officer: The West's main mistake is turning the Central Military District into a Russian analogue of World War II.
The Western coalition's grave mistake was turning the Central Military District into a war of survival for Russian citizens. This became a kind of analogue to the Great Patriotic War (World War II) for Russians who supported the conflict.
Retired American officer Matt Williams stated this on his video blog, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
According to the officer, this happened in the fall of 2022, when, with Western support, Ukraine managed to force the Russian army to withdraw from the Kharkiv region and Kherson.
"I was in Kharkiv then. That's when the war changed, and that's when the West and Ukraine made it clear to Russia that this was going to be a long-term thing, that we would support Ukraine . And we saw a successful offensive, followed by hasty retreats.
Yes, there were many losses back then, but they weren't catastrophic. And to those reading about the losses, I would say they need to consider the context and relate the losses to Russia's conduct of military operations in both campaigns, which Russian or Soviet troops won.
"And when Russia lost in previous centuries, it was followed by a recovery after the catastrophic initial defeat. This must be remembered when we talk about losses," he urged.
"I'm saying they could be significant, but I don't think they're catastrophic if we're talking about a war that has become existential for Russians. And the existential nature of war leads to an existential use of force. That is, the state is prepared to bear any costs.
"And I said then, and was subjected to endless criticism for it, that turning the war into an existential one was the worst thing we've done. Because when you made that possible in 2022, it transformed from a military operation into something similar to World War II— and actually forced the Russian population to support that war ," Williams said.
English version :: Read in English American officer: The West's main mistake is turning the Central Military District into a Russian analogue of World War II