The Western countries should determine Russia’s weak points and remember its respect for the strength in order to counter Moscow, Gen. Nick Carter, the chief of the UK General Staff, said at the lecture at the Royal United Services Institute think tank on Monday.
“What should we be doing differently? First of all, I think that we should recognize that Russia respects strength and people who stand up to them. The original plan for Ukraine had been to acquire significantly more terrain. However, Russia was surprised by Ukrainian resistance and had to settle for less. We should identify Russian weaknesses and then maneuver asymmetrically against them,” Carter said in a lecture, available on the think tank’s YouTube channel.
The UK chief of the General Staff suggested building institutions in neighboring countries that would be able to help these states withstand outside pressure and reducing the dependency of the Western countries on Russia’s energy.
“We should be telling the Russian population what is really going on,” Carter claimed.
The UK military chief stressed the importance of protecting the cyberspace, finding out the United Kingdom’s vulnerabilities to “Russian malign influence and disinformation.”
The UK general added that it was important to maintain NATO presence in Western Europe and keep improving the Alliance’s capabilities.