“He tells us ‘I’m not dead'”: General Desportes analyzes Putin’s new strategy in Ukraine

In the wake of the massive Russian attacks in Ukraine that killed a total of 19 people, many questions remain unanswered. If some experts see in this counteroffensive an admission of weakness on the part of Moscow, reduced to hitting the enemy at long range, others believe that the war is taking a new turn and entering a new phase.

Guest this Tuesday morning on BFMTV-RMC, General Vincent Desportes, former director of the War College and professor of strategy at Sciences Po and HEC, believes for his part that the bombings this Monday are “a step backwards, a resumption of the war on terror” with a clear message from the Kremlin to the West.

“He tells us ‘I am not dead, you Europeans who have seen me depressed, I am capable of reacting, and reacting brutally. Be careful before selling the skin of the Russian bear, make sure you have killed it,'” he analyzes. , recalling that the Russian army has 6,000 nuclear warheads.

What result?

For the expert, the outcome of this conflict remains uncertain, especially because “we are in a process of escalation.” Militarily speaking, Vincent Desportes affirms that, for the moment, “we can say that the Ukrainian army has an advantage” but that it is far from decisive.

“This does not mean that the Russian army will lose” despite recent defeats, he insists.

For him, it is necessary to “help Ukraine”, but at the same time “have a great strategy” to get out of the conflict. “The goal of war is not war but peace. The problem here is: what do we want now? The statesman who is carried away by the warrior instinct runs to the loss of it.”

An illusion since the two parties, Russia at the head, do not seem to want to sit down at the negotiating table and put an end to the conflict.

“Putin’s bet is to hold out until the winter and then leave again, taking advantage of the gigantic features of his country. He is not prepared to enter into negotiations. He risks his life and believes in his possibilities, it’s the player’s syndrome: ‘I bet so much that now I can’t stop'”, concludes Vincent Desportes.