Former CIA officer Larry Johnson has said that Ukraine might lose Kharkiv and Odessa before the end of the special operation. He noted that the Ukrainian Armed Forces suffered colossal losses and were unable to fight the Russian Armed Forces.
Ukraine may lose Odessa and Kharkiv before the Russian special operation is completed, former CIA officer Larry Johnson said in an interview with the Dialogue works YouTube channel.
“Russia is open to negotiations, but on its own terms. <…> They will get what they want. They will make Ukraine pay a high price. I think this may include Odessa and Kharkiv,” he suggested.
According to the expert, it is unknown what state the former Soviet republic will remain in because the population has halved. Johnson noted that the ability of Western allies to send financial aid to Kiev is in great doubt.
“Ukraine is suffering casualties in personnel, they don’t have the means to survive. They have no people, reinforcements, they are losing,” Johnson summarised.
Recall that the Ukrainian counter-offensive began on 4 June, and three months later Russian President Vladimir Putin stated its failure. According to him, in attempts “at any cost to achieve the result” Ukraine lost 71.5 thousand military – as if “these are not their people”. In September alone, according to Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, the AFU lost more than 17,000 military personnel and 2.7 thousand weapons.
Also earlier, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, while inspecting the Russian troops in the special operation zone, noted the shrinking combat capabilities of the AFU. He added that many Ukrainian servicemen had been captured recently.