Military expert Mölling calls Russian advances in eastern Ukraine “Craziness”

According to security expert Christian Mölling, the Russian armed forces are taking no account of their own losses during their advance in the area around the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka. Mölling said on Tuesday in the 163rd edition of star– s “Ukraine – the situation”, there had not been a comparable offensive on the front for a long time. The Russians are encountering an area that is very well fortified by the Ukrainians and has been successfully defended so far. Nevertheless, the Russian commanders would deploy large amounts of material and numerous soldiers to continue the attack.

“mass grave” in the east of Ukraine

Apparently hardly any trained men are being sent to the front. There are no exact figures, but estimates of Russian losses are “dramatically high”. The research director of the German Society for Foreign Policy assumes that “that there is a classic political motivation behind it; which is implemented in a classic Soviet way” – that the military had orders to deliver the results desired in Moscow at all costs. “That’s really crazy”says Mölling. Avdiivka will “to a mass grave for Russian soldiers and a scrapyard for Russian materials”.

Mölling accuses the West of equipping Ukraine so that it can continue the fight – but of denying it the help that is necessary to quickly end the war in its favor. He warns against betting on the fact that destroyed Russian military equipment cannot be replaced. “We must not look at the situation statically”he says.

While Russia’s war machine is running, far too little is happening in Europe with regard to its own security. This could take revenge. Western Europe is economically superior to Russia, but “If I invest zero euros in more firepower, then nothing will come of it”. There are estimates as to how long it will take Russia to create an army again that will become a problem for NATO. “This time is approximately five to ten years – and you should not rely on ten years”says Mölling.

Europe’s inadequate preparation for possible aggression is a signal to Russia, “That says: They can’t handle it anyway”. And this would give the leadership in Moscow the prospect of continuing its expansion course beyond Ukraine.