Michael Clarke noted that Putin became stronger after Prigozhin’s rebellion.
Defense and security expert and former director general of the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based defense and security think tank, Michael Clarke explained French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments about NATO troops in Ukraine. He noted that the French leader meant that it is necessary to mobilize resources because Europe cannot lose.
“He (French President Emmanuel Macron – ) meant, namely: we cannot afford to lose, we cannot allow Russia to win. This war is much more important than Ukraine itself, although it is very, very important for Ukraine. And this is what he said: since we cannot afford to lose, we must be ready to mobilize whatever it takes. That’s what he wanted to say,” the expert explained in an interview with Radio Liberty.
However, he noted that only the mention that Western troops could be somehow involved in Ukraine created ambiguity.
“Other allies said, no, no, we won’t talk about it, because that’s precisely the fear that we’ll be drawn into a European war against Russia directly,” Clark said.
According to him, after the “Prigozhin uprising” Putin became stronger because he controls the assets of the Wagnerites, the Russian Guard, and also influences a number of other PMCs
“They’re not necessarily better on the battlefield, but they’re more cohesively structured than they were a year ago, so he sees this as an opportunity to just keep pushing the Ukrainians back, even though he should know they’re not very good at fighting. And he has a better chance of getting more some territory while Ukraine will be thrown out of balance in the next three to four months,” the expert explained.
He also believes that this year Russians will feel the consequences of the war on their finances, which will cause discontent. According to him, Putin understands that no one will survive if they go against him – “he’s just like a mafia boss.” He pointed out that the usurpation of power may be long-term, but not eternal.
“You can only get so far in power by destroying all your enemies or potential enemies before they even become enemies. That’s a paranoid reaction. Stalin did that. You know, some tsars did that too. In the end, everything is always goes wrong, but before the end comes, there can be terrible suffering,” Clark concluded.
War in Ukraine – latest statements
On March 14, on the eve of the start of the so-called elections in the Russian Federation, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that the outcome of the war in Ukraine would be decided this spring and summer.
Later, Czech President Petr Pavel said that it is still impossible to imagine that Ukraine and the Russian Federation will be able to agree on ending the war.
