Brig. Gen. Francesco Cosimato, in an interview with Il Contesto web tv, said Russia advances seemingly slowly in Ukraine because it wants to wear down Kiev and the EU. “I believe that Russia is, month after month, wearing down Ukraine, but above all, the European Union. The EU can be the rearguard [for the war], can do things that violate international law and generate the right to reprisal, but above all, it can consume itself in loans that will not be repaid.
“In my view, we have already lost, and the EU can keep consuming itself, because we have no energy. If we start with this consideration, i.e., the EU has no energy and must import it.… Russia has decided to go on slowly in such a way as to wear down the leading European countries. At the same time, European countries, like a broken record, offer forces for when the war is over. … [S]uch offers, from a military standpoint, have no significance. In my view, we let ourselves be cooked on a small fire.
