Ukrainians destroyed Russian myth of "second army in the world" – Austrian general

Ukraine not only withstood the initial blow of Russia's full-scale invasion but also proved to the entire world its ability to effectively resist an army once called "the second strongest in the world."

Austrian military expert and retired Brigadier General of the Austrian Armed Forces Gerald Karner stated this in an interview with Ukrinform.

"On February 24, 2022, I couldn't have imagined that Ukraine would be able to hold its defense for so long. But within a few weeks, it became increasingly clear that the Russian attack had not been carefully planned and, more importantly, was very poorly executed," Karner said, commenting on whether he expected Ukraine to resist Russia's aggression for such an extended and effective period.

He noted that Russia "seriously miscalculated, above all in its assessment of Ukraine's ability to resist." According to him, "Ukraine has, in fact, destroyed that myth — it's absolutely clear," referring to the once-popular notion of Russia's "second army in the world."

Karner also commented on U.S. President Donald Trump's remark, in which Trump called Russia a "paper tiger" because of its military failures in Ukraine.

"I'm afraid that the military or strategic competence of the U.S. President Donald Trump is, to put it mildly, not very high. No, I certainly cannot agree with that. Over the past three years, Russia has made significant efforts to adapt to Ukraine's defense. It has achieved certain successes at times and has built enormous capabilities, particularly in the production and use of drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. Russia has shown that it is capable of adapting and, if not contained, will remain a real threat to Western Europe," Karner concluded.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Gustav Gressel, a lecturer at the Austrian National Defense Academy, said in an interview with Ukrinform that Russian leader Vladimir Putin would agree to genuine negotiations to end the war against Ukraine only when faced with an obvious defeat.

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