The Ukrainian forces are currently carrying out “counter-attacks which make it possible to reconquer places or certain parts of the front, but not to make Russia retreat on a broad front”, estimates the high-ranking officer in the weekly Focus.
However, according to him, kyiv acts “intelligently (…) and conducts operations in a sovereign and very mobile manner”.
“Two weeks ago, I would have said that the whole of Donbass would be in the hands of the Russians in six months. Today, I say that they will not succeed,” warns General Zorn.
The inspector of the Bundeswehr, the German army, further justifies Berlin’s reluctance to deliver the heavy weapons demanded by Ukraine.
The list of equipment already delivered by Germany is “considerable, both in terms of quantity and quality”, he argues.
But Germany should not, according to him, deplete its stocks too much. “Everything we give away, we need in return.”
Faced with a Vladimir Putin who only understands the language of “power” and “for effective deterrence, we need forces” in Germany.
Especially since the Russian president might, according to the Bundeswehr inspector, open a new front: “Kaliningrad, the Baltic Sea, the Finnish border, Georgia, Moldova… there are many possibilities. Putin in would have the capabilities.
“Even though regarding 60% of its ground forces are engaged in the war in Ukraine, the ground forces and especially the Russian navy and air force still have uncommitted capabilities,” he warns.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been under pressure in recent days from kyiv but also from his government coalition partners to deliver Leopard-2 tanks to Ukraine, without success at this stage.
