Security expert Christian Mölling calls for Russian allegations of Ukrainian attacks in Russia to be viewed with caution. “We are also pawns in this information battle,” he says in the stern podcast “Ukraine – The Situation”. Vladimir Putin had claimed that Ukrainians had entered the Russian border area and attacked civilians. The Ukrainian leadership denies this. The information cannot be independently verified.
Mölling also warns against jumping to conclusions about the rumors that Russian neo-Nazis, who are fighting alongside Ukraine, carried out the attacks. It is not known exactly how many neo-Nazis are fighting in the Ukrainian defense. He says: “Assessments about this are highly politicized and play a very central role in the narrative of this war.”
“If it had been an attack by Ukrainians, they would of course have the right to attack the Russian side,” says Mölling. “This is a legitimate military action.” Were it not for the possibility, the attacker could always hide behind his own border and prepare. “The border of the territory is not the limit for the attacks,” explains the security expert.
Nevertheless, the separation between civilians and soldiers applies on the one hand and the principle of peace on the other. “I’m allowed to react, but I also have a moral obligation to overcome violence,” says Mölling. That would not mean stopping violence after an intervention, but finding ways to end the war.
“It looks as if the massive artillery superiority of the Russians means that Bachmut can no longer be held,” says Mölling. When withdrawing, Ukrainian forces would try to hold back Russian forces for as long as possible in order to establish defense lines in the rear. “This kind of rearguard action can make total sense,” he says. Also because the Russian armed forces are weakened by high losses.
