In an opinion piece by the head of the Cobra Intelligence Group, former infantry commander Colonel Richard Kemp, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph stated under the headline: “Putin will regain the military initiative in Ukraine” that “if Russian President Vladimir Putin succeeds in achieving victory in the Donbass, this will not be the end for him, because he intends to bend all of Ukraine to his will and humiliate NATO and the United States of America.”

And she pointed out, according to the article, that “People like former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and French President Emmanuel Macron, who believe peace is a matter achieved by handing over a piece of land to Moscow, fail to understand the key point is that the prospect of Putin’s strategist goes much further than eastern Ukraine and has far more time and influence than we previously thought.”

The newspaper stated that “many commentators warned the West against inaction after Russia’s failed attempt to seize Ukraine in one fell swoop in February”, noting that “although Putin’s army may have demonstrated tactical incompetence and low morale, it has always been clear that the regrouped forces will can nonetheless achieve some of their goals.” “This is exactly what is happening now, when events against Ukrainians begin to turn in the Donbass region of Luhansk,” she stressed.

It focused on “Moscow is steadily gaining territory there and inflicting heavy casualties among Ukrainian forces,” citing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s admission last week that up to 100 of his soldiers are dying in the eastern region every day.