The head of the Norwegian Armed Forces, General Eirik Kristoffersen, said that neither Ukraine nor Russia will win the war militarily and that there is no short-term solution to this conflict.
He said this in an interview with the Klassekampen newspaper, writes VG.
«I think that there is no military solution to this conflict. It will take a very long time for one of the parties to gain a final victory over the other, and this will have terrible consequences for people, ”said Kristoffersen.
At the same time, Lieutenant Colonel Palle Idstebyo, who heads the Army Department at the Norwegian Military Academy, is more optimistic.
He still believes that it is realistic to expect Ukraine to win the war.
«Ukraine can rely on the entire Western economy, while Russia will have to be content with limited support from North Korea and Iran, as well as technological support from China, ”said the Norwegian lieutenant colonel.
Idstebyo also does not believe in a negotiated solution to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
«Now I do not think that it is politically possible for the Ukrainian authorities to agree on the rejection of part of the country. It will be a battle for who can survive, and in the worst case, it will drag on for several years, ”he concluded.
On January 20, the head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, said that it would be difficult for the defenders of Ukraine to force out the Russian occupiers from every centimeter of Ukrainian territory in 2023, given the length of the front line.
«It doesn’t mean it can’t happen, it doesn’t mean it won’t happen, but it will be very, very difficult,” he said.
Commenting on the doubts of the American general, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense stated that the assessments of Ukrainian intelligence remain «immutable and absolutely adequate. Its head Kirill Budanov predicted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine would return to the occupied Crimea by the end of spring 2023.
Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov said that he considers a real victory for Ukraine «the disintegration of Russia, its disappearance as an integral subject of history and politics.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking to the British Parliament, said that he was confident in Russia’s defeat in the war.
