Russian President Vladimir Putin now faces an “irreversible” quagmire amid the country’s land grabs in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, retired army general and former CIA chief David Petraeus said on Sunday.
Putin “loses” despite “significant” but “desperate” steps in the war that began in late February, Petraeus told ABC “This Week” co-host Jonathan Karl.
“President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy and Ukraine mobilized far better than Russia,” said Petraeus. “Ukraine has recruited, trained, equipped, organized and deployed forces incomparably better than Russia.”
Despite Putin’s bravery, Petraeus said, “No amount of annexation, no nuclear threat, however veiled, can get him out of this situation.”
When asked by Karl if Russia could win in its conflict with Ukraine, Petraeus said he didn’t see how: “You can’t. There’s nothing he does.” [Putin] can do at this point.”
On Friday, Putin said he would annex four regions of Ukraine “forever” – a move denounced by Ukraine, the US and other countries – and in late September the Russian leader said he would call up around 300,000 reservists to serve the to bolster the war effort, which sparked protests across the country.
In a rare acknowledgment Thursday, Putin admitted “mistakes” in conducting the mobilization. But he again argued in a speech on Friday that the invasion was crucial to saving Russia from what he called “the enemy” in the West.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s armed forces, backed by billions in arms and funds from US and European allies, have made steady territorial gains since a counteroffensive that began last month.
General David Petraeus discusses Ukraine and Russia with Jon Karl on ABC News’ This Week, Oct. 2, 2022.
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“He will continue to lose on the battlefield,” Petraeus said of Putin, noting Russia’s recent retreat from a supply-hub city in one of the annexed regions. Increasing sanctions are another complication, Petraeus said.
Petraeus said Putin’s Friday speech announcing the annexation of parts of Ukraine was intended to undermine Europe’s commitment to challenge Russia, which is a key energy supplier on the continent.
“Europe will have a hard winter,” said Petraeus. “There will be a very reduced flow of natural gas, but they will manage and I don’t think they will give up on the issue of supporting Ukraine.”
“Negotiations, as President Zelenskyy has said, will be the final end,” Petraeus said – although an imminent diplomatic result is unlikely as Zelenskyy signaled on Friday that Ukraine would only agree to talks “with another president of Russia”. .
“Things can get worse for Putin and for Russia. The use of tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield will not change that,” said Petraeus.
Still, he said the nuclear threat must be taken “seriously.”
General David Petraeus discusses Ukraine and Russia with Jon Karl on ABC News’ This Week, Oct. 2, 2022.
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Karl asked him if the use of such weapons would require direct US intervention in the conflict with NATO.
Petraeus said a response could result in the US and its NATO allies eliminating “every Russian conventional force that we can see and identify on the battlefield” in Ukraine, the contested Crimea region that Russia annexed in 2014. and ships in the Black Sea.
“It cannot go unanswered. But it’s not expanding — it’s non-nuclear for nuclear. They don’t want to get into a nuclear escalation here,” Petraeus said. “But you have to show that this is by no means acceptable.”