General Patrick Dutartre, general of the Air Force, former leader of the Patrouille de France, notes Saturday March 26 on franceinfo “A breathlessness of the Russian offensive and even, in several places, a retreat”, a month after the start of the conflict. The Russian army has announced that it is concentrating its offensive on Donbass, in eastern Ukraine.
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franceinfo: Is Russia backing down in Ukraine?
General Patrick Dutartre: I think you have to be extremely careful about any announcements that are made. That said, we can see some signs of encouragement towards a concentration, an end to this multipoint attack that we have been observing for some time, a clearer strategy which is, somewhere, a way out for the Russian military forces. from Ukraine.
Russia claims that it is initially in its plan to refocus on the Donbass: is this credible?
In any case, it’s a way out. What we had observed since the start of the invasion was that the strategy was not very clear. We had trouble reading. Today, Russian forces are positioned on a dozen different fronts. We obviously observe a breathlessness of the Russian offensive and even, in several places, a retreat. It would be a way for the Russian military to get out and actually focus on those two regions that were originally at the root of the conflict.
Is the Russian army that strong?
We will analyze it in detail at the end of the conflict. Were the objectives very clear? Were the orders of President Putin, very isolated, perfectly understood by his staff? The strategy was still quite difficult to perceive. What we can observe is indeed that the offensive of the first day was relatively clear, and then, not.
“They did hit some military targets, but they absolutely did not expect this reaction from the Ukrainian forces.”
General Patrick Dutartreat franceinfo
There are still many difficulties encountered by the Russian military in terms of coordination, in terms of support, in terms of logistics after 31 days of war. Going like that in Ukraine, on almost twelve different fronts, is extremely difficult. One should not overestimate some Russian troops who are conscription soldiers, who have been told to do a pacification maneuver, and who end up with incredible hostility and resistance from the Ukrainian forces.
Are the counter-offensives surprising?
No, not in such a mobilization of Ukrainian forces, which have fairly sophisticated weaponry, in particular anti-tank or low-altitude air defense, which has had some success, in particular the last counter-attack on the side of Kherson, which is major, because that it would completely calm Odessa’s inclinations, and that’s such a strategic point.