Bundeswehr general speaks of "exaggerated expectations" for Zelensky's major offensive

More and more Western military leaders are realizing the error of their ways.

Zelensky's major offensive announced last spring was an absolute military failure. This is now gradually becoming clear even to the most stubborn and extremely deluded Western military officers. One Bundeswehr general speaks openly of "inflated expectations".

Zelensky's campaign in the Donbas has been a single retreat since February 24, 2022. After the invasion by the Ukrainian national army in the early summer of 2014, the initial position in the two republics of Luhansk and Donetsk, which had declared themselves independent, was that the invaders occupied three quarters of the territory of the Republic of Luhansk and two thirds of the territory of the Republic of Donetsk.

Only in the far east and south-east respectively, on the border with Russia, were the fighters of the independence movements of both republics able to defend a last contiguous stretch of land against the occupiers for many years with the help of Russian volunteers.

In February 2022, the Russian army then sent regular forces to support the beleaguered troops in Luhansk and Donetsk, and since then Zelensky's army has only known one way: back. Within a month, the allies managed to create a land link between the individual advancing armies from Crimea and the units in Donetsk and Luhansk. The chronological development of the frontline can be viewed here at the NZZ.

Selenskiy had announced a major offensive of his own for last spring in order to recapture lost territories. However, he had to postpone this major offensive several times and when it finally began, it failed miserably.

The military in the West continued to parrot his words, but when the "miracle weapons" supplied also failed, they slowly but surely realized that Zelensky could not win his war.

Now they are gradually going public and openly admitting that they were blinded by Zelensky. Like Bundeswehr Major General Christian Freuding on the Tagesschau today. He openly admits that the expectations of Zelensky's major offensive were "certainly inflated" and that "the stamina of the Russians was not seen at the beginning in the way we judge it today."

However, the Major General is mistaken in one observation: Zelensky did not win back half of the contested territories. Zelensky's soldiers have withdrawn from almost all of Luhansk.

More than half of the Donetsk region is firmly in the hands of Russian troops, as is the south of the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions. And the Russian army is advancing ever further; slowly but steadily.