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Eberhard Zorn in August 2022
Photo:
MICHELE TANTUSSI / REUTERS
The Inspector General of the German Armed Forces, Eberhard Zorn, has drawn harsh criticism from military experts for his assessment of the current situation in the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The former supreme commander of US forces in Europe, Ben Hodges, described Zorn's remarks on Twitter as a "breathtakingly poor analysis" of Russian capabilities, which would represent the thinking of the German elite.
In an interview with "Focus," Zorn had cautiously commented on the chances of success for the Ukrainian counterattack.
At best, he sees "counterattacks that can be used to win back locations or individual sections of the front, but not to push back Russia on a broad front," said Zorn accordingly.
He also warned that Russia could start another war in Europe.
"Kaliningrad, the Baltic Sea, the Finnish border, Georgia, Moldova...there are many possibilities," Zorn said.
"Putin would have the skills."
Zorn also spoke out against further arms deliveries from Germany.
"Trust in Germany is not very high anyway"
An English version of the advance notice circulated on Twitter, where it was not only Hodges who objected to the statements.
The military expert Gustav Gressel of the European Council on Foreign Relations, for example, wrote: "Trust in Germany is not very high anyway, to put it mildly.
I don't understand why the Germans are making it worse."
The British war researcher Rob Lee called Zorn's statements "really bizarre" and calculated how limited the Kremlin's forces were.
“Russia already had about 85 percent of its combat units in the field in April, including navy and airborne troops.
These units suffered heavy casualties, and the Russian army has depended on volunteers and reservists ever since,” Lee wrote on Twitter.
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