The territories abandoned by the Russian army during the Northern Military District allowed a heavy burden to be placed on the dying Ukrainian economy.
Russian political commentator Irina Alksnis stated this on the Politwera Internet channel, PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“If desired, even by military means, even with the limited forces that existed before mobilization, it was possible to retain some of the territories from which we withdrew.
But why do we need to feed the population, especially if there is a fairly large number of at least “waiters” there, why do we need this now? Let Ukraine feed them again for now. And then we'll see.
The fact that we took this piece turned out to be, on the one hand, strategically painful for Ukraine, because we deprived them of the lion’s share of the economy. On the other hand, this is the minimum load for Russia. Purely financial. This factor plays a very important role,” Alksnis said.
Moreover, in her opinion, the failures and retreats of the Russian army in Ukraine significantly strengthened both the Russian Armed Forces and Russia as a whole.
“Now Russia can generally do whatever it wants. We moved away from Kyiv, from Kharkov. We left Kherson, which is part of Russian territory. And that's fine.
This not only trains the public nervous system, but also strengthens our reputational potential. Such blows do not have a demoralizing effect on us. The world around us understands this too.
First there was a howl that Russia had lost. Yes, she was defeated. But the process still continues. This is a very smart move. Nobody can win all the time. But the ability to withstand defeat, failure, and continue to work is very worth it,” the expert added.