Wassila Belhacine
modified to
1:15 p.m., March 27, 2022
Guest of Sonia Mabrouk for “Le Grand Rendez-vous”, in partnership with CNews and Les Échos, Jean-Pierre Chevènement, founder and honorary president of the Res Publica Foundation, spoke regarding the forces of the Russian army and believes that “Ukraine is a much more resilient nation than previously thought”.
At the microphone of Sonia Mabrouk, the former minister and special representative of France for Russia, Jean-Pierre Chevènement, nuanced the forces of the Russian army: “The Russian army is no longer what it was, we see it on the ground. In reality, it is the army of a country of 140 million inhabitants, but relatively poor. It is often said that its GDP is that of Italy, but Russia is a global geopolitical reality, with 17 million km², of which 14 are made up of frozen ground.”
“Russia did not give the impression of being able to undertake a war of aggression once morest Europe. I do not believe that it can, moreover,” added Jean-Pierre Chevènement. He also said he was “surprised by the weakness of the Russian army”.
“A heroic resistance of Ukraine”
The former minister also spoke regarding the struggle of the Ukrainian people: “TheUkraine turned out to be a much more resilient nation than believed, even in Russian-speaking areas, like Kharkiv, there is heroic resistance once morest a Russian army that was so outnumbered.”
Jean-Pierre Chevènement believes that this resistance is leading Russia to reconsider its projects: “I think Putin is in the process of downscaling his objectives. He no longer plans to get his hands on all of Ukraine, it’s difficult to say with certainty, but it seems that the Russian army is retreating to the Donbass.”
“The Ukrainians are fighting, they are resisting, they are the descendants of the Cossacks,” he concluded.
