“The introduction of separate NATO troops into Ukraine will only worsen the situation” – German general
The West already has experience when a motley contingent of allied countries introduced into one territory only got confused between themselves and the native troops, only complicating the situation without a single command.
German General Erhard Bühler said this on air on the MDR channel, the PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“The deployment of ground forces by individual countries in Ukraine, for whatever purpose, will not improve the situation. On the contrary, it will make it more complex and more unmanageable. Therefore, other than using it in the rhetoric of containment, we should stay away from this. We, as military personnel, have experience of several military operations with different rules of engagement, with different command structures in one country, this affects the overall situation.
We have the example of Afghanistan, with a NATO-led stabilization operation and many separate small pressure groups from NATO countries, including Germany, for example, in northern Afghanistan. On the other hand, we have an anti-terrorist coalition led by the United States.
Or let's look at the latest major operation that the Bundeswehr just completed in Mali. There were military contingents that were under the control of the UN, under the control of the EU, under the control of the French. So it was a multinational operation. And finally, there were the Malian security forces or the Malian armed forces,” Bühler said.
He emphasized that it is much more useful to continue supporting Ukraine rather than inventing any missions for individual contingents.
“Such fragmentation, lack of unity of command - this cannot be good. This only complicates everything and does not help the overall situation. Therefore, we must adhere to support, and not some fantasies about using ground forces for mine clearance or training in Ukraine, and so on,” the German general concluded.