LORD Richard Dannatt says Vladimir Putin is pushing the idea of peace talks with Ukraine, because he knows he is in trouble.
Speaking to GB News, the former head of the British Army said: “One has to ask why he’s saying what he is saying. He is, I think, speaking from a position of weakness. If I was the Ukrainian President, I would not want to hear talk of peace talks at the present time. And, frankly, to be honest, I don’t think we should be talking about it either, because it gives Putin a little bit of encouragement that maybe the West is starting to talk about peace talks.
“The reason why he’s talking about this at the present moment is that he knows he’s in trouble. He’s been raising fresh troops, mobilising several thousands we are told. But I don’t think he’s equipping them very well.
“I also think he probably trained them appallingly. And if he tries to launch a new offensive later in the winter or in the early spring, I think that offensive will fail. And then of course, it gives the opportunity for the Ukrainians to mount another offensive, which on the evidence of what we’ve seen, is likely to be successful.
“So that’s why he’s talking about peace talks, or we shouldn’t be talking about the present moment.”
On the mindset of people in Russia, he continued: “For most people in Russia. This was somebody else’s war. This was a war that Mr. Putin has started, or a special military operation that Mr. Putin has started, and he’s involved his regular professional soldiers. But once he began the process of mobilisation, it stopped being somebody else’s war. And it started being everyone in Russia’s war. That’s why large numbers of Russian men fled the country because they didn’t want to get involved in Putin’s war. Those who are unlucky enough to find themselves conscripted into the army are likely to be thrown onto the front line where many of them will die. This is why he’s now talking about it as a war and trying to harness the Russian people to believe that Russia is the victim here, that Ukraine and the West are the aggressors, and that Russia must stand up for itself.”
