Russian mistakes in the war in Ukraine and Vladimir Putin’s admissions of weakness … The “8:30 franceinfo” by Marie Mendras and General Vincent Desportes

Marie Mendras, political scientist specializing in Russia, researcher at the CNRS and professor at SciencesPo and General Vincent Desportes, former director of the School of War and professor of strategy at Sciences Po and HEC, were the guests of the “8:30 franceinfo” Saturday April 9. They answered questions from Ersin Leibowitch and Myriam Encaoua.

Vladimir Putin, “a dictator who has become a madman”

Asked about the war in Ukraine, political scientist Marie Mendras believes that Vladimir Putin is in “a personal drift linked to the deterioration of the whole regime” Russian. According to her, the entourage of the Russian president did not “not the means to contradict him or disobey him”adding that “the Putin dictatorship will not be able to start again as before”.

The “terror war” in Ukraine means that “the dictatorial edifice is fractured”judge Marie Mendras. “As soldiers and intelligence services have always worked in a climate of impunity, it is a regime that believes that impunity is total from the bottom to the top of the pyramid”analyzes the researcher.

“This war has been a misinterpretation from the start”

General Vincent Desportes believes that “Mr. Putin was wrong about almost everything” since the start of the war in Ukraine. “The image of the Russian army was that of a much better organized, much more powerful army”he believes.

The former director of the War School points out the errors of the Russian forces and of Vladimir Putin, who was convinced that his army “would decapitate Ukraine in two days”. “There were a lot of mistakes from start to finish.concludes Vincent Desportes. Vladimir Putin had barely prepared for this war, it was badly planned and almost improvised”.

Find the interview of Marie Mendras and General Vincent Desportes in full: