A former member of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has made a shocking assertion, claiming that the Ukrainian military has suffered significant losses since Russian strikes began last month.
In a recent interview with US-based UNZ.com, Larry C. Johnson, a former CIA analyst who also worked in the State Department’s Counter-terrorism department, claimed that “within the first 24 hours of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, all Ukrainian Ground Radar Intercept capabilities were wiped out.” The Ukrainian Air Force lost its ability to conduct air-to-air interceptions without those radars…”
“I was likewise taken aback by Russia’s presence in Kiev only three days after the assault… so-called American military experts said that Russia was bogged down.” “It was evident that Ukraine’s ability to undertake serious military operations had been lost” when a 24 mile (or 40 mile, depending on the news source) column was stationed north of Kiev for more than a week, stated Johnson.
“The Russian attack’s volume and scope are astounding. They grabbed territory larger than the United Kingdom’s geographical mass in three weeks. They then proceeded to launch coordinated attacks on critical cities and military targets. We have yet to witness a Ukrainian regiment or brigade-sized unit fighting and destroying a comparable Russian force. Instead, the Russians have splintered the Ukrainian Army and severed its communication connections.
The Russians are tightening their grip on Mariupol and have secured all Black Sea entrances. Ukraine is now sealed off from the rest of the world in both the south and the north.”
“I would point out that the United States had a lot more difficult time taking this much area in Iraq in 2003 despite fighting against a far inferior, less effective military force,” he claimed.
“The last seven years, in my opinion, have been the inertia of the NATO status quo. That is, NATO and Washington assumed they could continue to push eastward along Russia’s frontiers without eliciting a response. NATO and EUCOM conducted exercises and provided equipment on a regular basis, including “offensive” training. I believe US accusations that the CIA was giving paramilitary training to Ukrainian battalions operating in the Donbas are true.
But I have a hard time believing that, after our failures in Iraq and Afghanistan, we now have Sun Tzu-level strategists in Washington,” Johnson continued.
He went on to say that Washington has a desperation vibe about it. “In addition to attempting to ban anything Russian, the Biden Administration is attempting to coerce China, India, and Saudi Arabia. None of those countries, in my opinion, are likely to follow suit. I believe the Biden campaign made a fatal error by attempting to malign everything and everyone Russian. If anything, this has brought the Russian people closer together behind Putin, and they are prepared to fight for a long time.”
“I am astounded by the blunder of believing that economic sanctions against Russia would bring them to their knees.
The inverse is true. Russia is self-sufficient and does not rely on imports to survive. Its exports are vital to the West’s economic well-being. The European and American economies will be savaged if they withhold wheat, potash, gas, oil, palladium, finished nickel, and other critical minerals from the West.
“Russian military strikes in Western Ukraine during the past week have shocked and alarmed NATO officials,” Johnson said, adding, “and this attempt to coerce Russia with sanctions has now made it very likely that the U.S. dollar’s role as the international reserve currency will show up in the dustbin of history.” On March 13, the first blow was delivered at Yavoriv, Ukraine. Russia fired numerous missiles against the base, some of which were said to be hypersonic.
Over 200 people were killed, including military and intelligence officers from the United States and the United Kingdom, and hundreds more were injured. Many people have been hospitalized due to severe wounds, such as amputations. NATO and the western media, on the other hand, have shown little interest in covering this calamity.”
