Nicolas Tonev (special envoy to kyiv), edited by Juline Garnier 09:22, March 24, 2022

It has been exactly a month since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.

Imagined as a lightning operation, the Russian army skates and the war lasts because the Ukrainian resistance is strong.

"This is only the beginning of the conflict", announces a former general officer of the services of the Ukrainian army, met in kyiv. 

REPORT

A month of nightmare.

On February 24, Russia attacked Ukraine causing a sordid toll: ten million displaced people and the port city of Mariupol almost wiped off the map.

A war that the Kremlin wanted to be lightning but which lasts because the Ukrainian resistance is strong and the Moscow army is encountering major logistical problems, especially in kyiv.

In the Ukrainian capital, a former general officer of the services of the Ukrainian army confided in the microphone of Europe 1. His name remains a secret, but he was able to deliver his analysis of this war.

"This is only the beginning of the conflict," he announced, behind his dark glasses.

The Russians in logistical difficulty

The former major general of the Ukrainian services is formal.

He admits that the Russian military is vastly superior, but intelligence can detect weaknesses that help Ukraine.

"When you look at databases that list the movement of goods by Russian railways, you can see that almost behind every platform car number, there is an order from the Russian army in priority service. But today, there are no longer enough wagons of this type. Rolling military vehicles are therefore blocked in Russia. Tanks and vehicles, everything necessary is blocked", he analyzes.

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Under these conditions, he doubts that the Russians have the means to take the capital because the price would be very high.

"In kyiv, we distributed 25,000 to 30,000 Kalashnikovs with two full magazines per submachine gun, i.e. 60 cartridges. hard for the infantry in front. Trying to conquer the city like this on the ground, they are not going to do it. And if they try a lot they will die. It is unreasonable. Yes, but it is possible. An attempt is possible", warns the former general.

A total encirclement of kyiv is "impossible"

In the former USSR, the profession of spy was the most prestigious, so our interlocutor is almost confused about the work of the general of the FSB, the organizer of the invasion.

He knows him.

He knows he is one of the two thanked for misconduct by Vladimir Putin.

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"It's the fifth section of the FSB, which works on spy operations, which organized everything. And there, frankly, preparing for a war at this level is no longer a mistake, it's a crime General Vеѕеdа, how could he commit so many blunders?

The retired spy estimates that in the current state, a total encirclement of the capital is impossible, because requiring at least 400,000 Russian soldiers in Ukraine.

On Wednesday, the US Pentagon assured that Russian soldiers had retreated more than 30 kilometers east of kyiv in 24 hours.