The American Secretary of State and the American Secretary of Defense traveled to kyiv on this Orthodox Easter Sunday to meet President Zelensky. On this occasion, they announced new military funding of over $322 million, which should make it possible to provide Ukraine with the support it needs, particularly in the Donbass. Three questions to French General Vincent Desportes.
Vincent Desportes is the former director of the School of War in Paris. He just published Aim for the top – To succeed, become a strategistpublished by Denoel.
RFI: The Ukrainian president very regularly asks his Western partners for more powerful weapons. Are these new American announcements a sign that these requests are beginning to be heard? ?
Vincent Desportes: I think they are rather the sign of the beginning of a tipping point in the war. We know that the Americans only commit when there is little risk, when they are absolutely sure of their business. The visit of these two ministers to kyiv and the announcement of the donation of heavy weapons is a sign that American intelligence has the feeling that the war is turning, that the Ukrainians have a good chance of stopping the aggression Russian, or even to push the Russians back into their country.
They believe that by arming even more, by reinforcing the Ukrainian troops, there is a good chance that Ukraine will stop the aggression and perhaps repel it. As time goes by, we see that the armament given to Ukraine changes: we started from light weapons, ammunition, small caliber, to move towards portable anti-tank or anti-aircraft weapons. Today, we are talking about armored vehicles, tanks and personnel carriers. We therefore see a real change in the armament that is brought to Ukraine.
President Putin sought to take away Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence. He failed. Ukraine is sovereign and independent and will remain so far longer than Vladimir Putin is on the scene. We will support them for as long as it takes to succeed. pic.twitter.com/CndU6ZfAwL
—Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) April 25, 2022
How do you assess the role played by the Americans in the Ukrainian resistance against Russia?
It should first be noted that there is an improvement among the Americans. During the First World War, they took three years to enlist. During the Second World War, they also took three or even four years. In the affairs of Yugoslavia, they took four years; they waited between 1991 and 1995 for the Dayton Accords. This time, we see that their engagement is much faster. On the other hand, their engagement in these three conflicts consisted in sending tens, even hundreds of thousands of men to Europe. There, we are in another variant, with a speech and weapons, but no real commitment on the ground. On the other hand, the commitment in terms of aid and equipment is very real.
What is a bit disturbing, I think, for Europe is to see that Antony Blinken is going to kyiv and that therefore he is making Europe take a very clear risk, since we have representatives of the greatest nuclear power in the world, who return directly to a theater of war where the other greatest nuclear power in the world is engaged. And all this is happening above the heads of Europeans, as if, deep down, we did not exist. This is why it is really time for the President of Europe, President Macron, who was arrested, basically, during a month of election campaigning, to regain control and for Europe to truly exist again . Mr Macron must be able to restore the unity of Europe, which has crumbled with Hungary, Poland and even Germany, so that we are able to resume our own destiny by hand.
Russia shot down two Ukrainian drones near the border with Ukraine on Monday, local authorities said. The announcement comes shortly after Russian authorities reported a fire at a large fuel depot in a Russian town, 150 km from the border, and serving as a logistics base for the military offensive. Russia has repeatedly accused Kyiv forces of carrying out strikes on its soil. Ukrainians generally remain discreet. How do you explain this restraint ?
It is quite likely that this restraint is due to the fact that we know very well that Vladimir Putin must not lose face. It is a strategic error to make the other lose face, which is obliged to outbid. So I think they have to carry out these maneuvers quietly. At the same time, Ukrainians have no interest in portraying themselves as aggressors of Russia; they have more interest in showing the whole world that it is they themselves who are being attacked. We know that Volodymyr Zelensky is an ace in communication: he stages his war and this silence on his own strikes in Russia is part of this staging.
►Read again: The day the head of American diplomacy arrived in kyiv
It is tactically, technically and militarily normal for Ukraine to strike Russia on its soil. What is important is not hitting the power, but the source of the power. When Ukraine is going to strike logistic depots, assembly points, it is just applying the simplest military logic, which consists in attacking what gives military power to the other, that is say its logistics. If the Russians run out of spare parts, out of ammunition, out of fuel, they will stop. So they have every interest in going and hitting those deposits.
