Former German armed forces chief of staff Gen. Harald Kujat, completely surprised by Putin’s military operation, believes the Russian leader’s goal is “to break down resistance in Ukraine with targeted hard blows, just as Americans did in the Iraq war.” Only then would Putin move again to negotiations.
As for possible NATO responses, the retired general, who was also chairman of the NATO Military Committee, said the Western military alliance could not intervene directly because of the risk of global escalation. “Putin will not attack NATO targets. The only thing the alliance can do now is try to strengthen its own defenses with its own formations. But that won’t happen as quickly as it should. It will take a lot of time to get these formations in place.”
