Putin is humiliated, that's a fact
As the NATO-Ukraine Council met following the massive Russian attacks carried out earlier this week on Ukrainian infrastructure and cities, General Jérôme Pellistrandi, a doctor of history and editor-in-chief of the journal Défense nationale, warned of the inevitable passing of time. Winter is approaching and will cast a chill over positions on the frontline.
According to the expert, the Russian strikes (236 missiles and drones) launched on 15 regions of Ukraine are a punishment inflicted on the Ukrainians, as Russia has failed to find its way to victory on the battlefield. “Vladimir Putin wants to punish Ukraine! There is no openness to dialogue on Moscow's behalf, no compromise seems possible.” He emphasizes that “Russia is failing to win on the battlefield, so today it's a question of punishing the Ukrainians by carrying out strikes across the entire territory. Energy infrastructures are particularly targeted, with the aim of breaking the Ukrainian war effort.”
Jérôme Pellistrandi also talks about the balance of power between the two enemy camps and Moscow’s progress in Ukrainian territory, despite the recent offensive operation launched on Russian soil. The Russian army is advancing “in the Donbass and is now getting closer to Kramatorsk, a large city of 100,000 inhabitants. The objective today is to gain as much ground as possible before winter. There are two “useful” months left before the autumn rains that will freeze military maneuvers, on both sides. Each camp is therefore trying to score points as quickly as possible. There is also a political and geopolitical calendar, with the American elections on November 5.”
On the Ukrainian side, the doctor of history specifies that the Ukrainian forces are realistic in their objectives and do not want to go as far as the Russian capital. “The idea is to have the most assets in hand in order to arrive in a position of strength on the day negotiations are initiated between the two parties.”
He added that: “from a general point of view, this Ukrainian breakthrough is a humiliation for Vladimir Putin, whose “special operation” launched in February 2022 never went as planned.”
(MH with Manon Pierre - Source: Public Senat - Picture: by Kremlin.ru via Wikicommons under license Creative commons CC-BY-4.0)