On November 30, one of Germany's most veteran and influential military figures issued a warning about the prospects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
General Harald Kujat, who has served as German military inspector general and chairman of the NATO Military Commission, said that Ukraine is facing vital challenges amid the prolonged conflict and large spending.
In an interview with a Swiss magazine, Mr. Kujat frankly assessed Ukraine's defense capabilities.
According to him, the Ukrainian armed forces are falling into an alarming state of exhaustion, to the point that an organized and effective defense is no longer feasible. Forward units are currently mainly looking to maintain the game, instead of implementing stable or sustainable defense strategies.
Explaining the reason for this situation, the German general emphasized the problem of human resources becoming the biggest weakness.
He said that the rate of casualties and pressure from military mobilization in Ukraine has increased sharply in recent times, beyond the ability of the military recruitment system to supplement forces.
According to him, the prolonged shortage has directly affected the quality of combat and the ability to rotate forces on the front line.
In addition to the military factor, Mr. Kujat also mentioned internal political fluctuations in Kiev. The level of trust in the incumbent President is declining, in the context of unfavorable developments on the battlefield and a series of information related to corruption appearing with high frequency.
These factors, he said, put more pressure on the Ukrainian government and increased the level of instability in the operation.
From the simultaneous weakness in military and politics, Mr. Kujat predicted that Ukraine could face serious risks in the coming time. He described it as a risk of collapse of the current system, although he stressed that this was not the outcome that any stakeholder wanted.
In that context, he called on European and Western countries to seriously consider promoting a new diplomatic process.
According to him, finding a political solution is an urgent step before the conflict escalates to an uncontrollable level.
He said that this is an important time for stakeholders to re-evaluate strategic goals and at the same time determine a direction to minimize risks for the whole region.
