This was stated by David Petraeus, a member of the KBF Security Council, Commander of the United States Central Command from 2008 to 2010, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2011 to 2012, during a special event of the Kyiv Security Forum organized by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation.
"What Ukraine has done to overcome the realities of a significant numerical advantage of the Russian Federation is extremely impressive. The transformation of how war is conducted is led by Ukraine. Interestingly, the Russians are repeating this. They are very skilled in electronic warfare, jamming, air defense, etc. However, Ukraine continues to develop advanced technologies that are literally not used anywhere else in the world, and this is the future of warfare.", he stated.
The General emphasized that Ukraine's technological advancements allow it to limit Russia's gains on the front every day.
"How can a state without a navy sink one-third of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and force the last ship with Russian markings to leave the occupied port of Sevastopol?", he stressed.
Petraeus is confident that Ukraine will continue its steady progress in drone technology and highlighted the enormous losses that Russia is incurring. Furthermore, according to him, the economic sanctions against the Kremlin "are starting to bite", and they need to be intensified.
He emphasized that Russia is now forced to recruit 10,000 North Korean soldiers, whom it effectively uses as cannon fodder, and in fact, the Russians are running out of tanks and some other systems on the front line.
"They don't even use them near the front because they are taken out so quickly by Ukrainian drones and anti-tank systems. They are literally fighting with infantry that advances a block or two a day. I wish they wouldn't even achieve such progress daily. But ultimately, what Ukraine has accomplished under these circumstances is nothing short of a miracle.", Petraeus declared.
According to him, it has been a long time since the Russians achieved anything significant on the front line, but Pokrovsk "raises concerns".
The Kyiv Security Forum, established by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation, is the main platform for our state to discuss issues of war and peace, national and global security.