俄罗斯的这次行动应该会吓坏美国军事和政治领导人
问一：你能解释一下为什么你认为俄罗斯正在赢得乌克兰战争吗？
约翰逊：在俄罗斯在乌克兰开展军事行动的最初24小时内，乌克兰的所有地面雷达拦截能力都被消灭了。没有这些雷达，乌克兰空军就失去了进行空对空拦截的能力。在其间的三周内，俄罗斯在乌克兰上空建立了事实上的禁飞区（No-Fly-Zone）。俄罗斯空军虽然仍然容易受到美国和北约向乌克兰提供的肩抗式地对空导弹的攻击，但没有证据表明俄罗斯不得不削减其空中作战行动。
俄罗斯在入侵后三天内抵达基辅也引起了我的注意。我记得纳粹德国在巴巴罗萨行动中花了7周时间到达基辅，还需要7周时间才能征服这座城市。纳粹德国的优势是根本不需要为了避免平民伤亡而束手束脚，他们并且急于摧毁关键基础设施。然而，现在许多所谓的美国军事专家却声称俄罗斯陷入了困境。当俄罗斯一个长达24英里（或40英里，不同新闻来源有不同的说法）的坦克装甲车队停在基辅以北超过一周的时间，很明显，乌克兰发动重大军事行动的能力已被消除。如果乌克兰的火炮完好无损，那么该俄罗斯坦克纵队会很容易被大规模破坏。但是，乌克兰火炮的攻击没有发生。或者，如果乌克兰人拥有可运行的固定翼或者甚至螺旋桨飞机，他们应该从空中摧毁那个纵队。但是，这没有发生。或者，如果乌克兰有使用的的巡航导弹能力，他们应该送那些据称是停滞不前的俄罗斯坦克纵队下地狱。但是这也没有发生。乌克兰人甚至没有用美国向他们新提供的“标枪”肩扛式反坦克导弹对纵队进行大规模的步兵伏击。
俄罗斯袭击的规模和范围是惊人的。他们在三周内占领了比英国国土还大的领土。然后，他们开始对主要城市和军事设施进行有针对性的攻击。我们还没有看到哪怕是一个乌克兰团一级或旅一级单位的攻击，并击败对等的俄罗斯军事单位的例子。相反，俄罗斯人将乌克兰军队分裂成碎片，切断了他们的通讯线路。俄罗斯人正在巩固他们对马里乌波尔的控制，并确保了通往黑海的所有通道。乌克兰现在在南部和北部被切断。
我要指出的是，美国在2003年占领伊拉克这么多领土时遇到了更艰难的时期，同时还要与一支实力相当低下、能力差很多的军队作战。俄罗斯的这次行动应该会吓坏美国军事和政治领导人。
本周真正的重大消息传来，俄罗斯导弹袭击了事实上的北约在亚沃里夫和日托米尔的基地。北约于2018年9月在日托米尔进行了网络安全培训，并将乌克兰描述为“北约伙伴”。星期六，日托米尔被高超音速导弹摧毁。上周日，雅沃里夫遭遇了类似的命运。它是北约和欧盟司令部用来向乌克兰提供战斗机和武器的主要训练和后勤中心。该基地的大量军事和文职人员伤亡。
北约自2015年以来一直使用这些基地培训乌克兰军事人员，但是俄罗斯空袭的时候，乌克兰军方没有发出任何空袭警报，更没能击落任何俄罗斯攻击导弹。
问二：为什么媒体试图说服乌克兰人民他们可以在与俄罗斯的战争中获胜？如果你说的是对的，那么所有被派去与俄罗斯军队作战的平民都将死于一场他们无法取胜的战争。我不明白为什么媒体要在如此严重的事情上误导大众。 你对此事有何看法？
约翰逊：这是无知和懒惰的结合造成的。绝大多数媒体（印刷和电子）以及大型科技公司都没有进行真实的报导，而是支持大规模的宣传活动。 我记得乔治·W·布什被媒体说成是希特勒的时候。我记得唐纳德-川普被媒体骂成希特勒的时候。 现在我们有了新的希特勒，弗拉基米尔·普京。 媒体上演的是一本老掉牙而且失败的剧本。现在任何敢于提出合理问题的人都会立即被贬为普京的傀儡或俄罗斯的走狗。 当这些媒体不能以事实来说服时，他们唯一的办法就是骂人。
问三：上周，道格拉斯·麦格雷戈上校（曾被川普提名驻德国大使）做了福克斯新闻塔克·卡尔森秀（Tucker Carlson）的嘉宾。 他对战争的看法与你惊人地相似。 以下是他在采访中所说的：
“对乌克兰人来说，战争真的结束了。他们的军队已被磨成碎片，尽管我们从主流媒体那里听到了什么，但事实是毫无疑问。 所以，现阶段对我们来说真正的问题是，塔克，我们是要与俄罗斯人民和他们的政府一起共存，还是继续追求这种伪装成乌克兰战争、实质是谋求俄罗斯政权更替？ 我们是否要停止使用乌克兰作为打击莫斯科的攻城槌？这实际上是我们所做的。” （塔克卡尔森——麦格雷戈采访）
你同意麦格雷戈的观点，即煽动俄罗斯在乌克兰开战的真正目的是要俄罗斯“政权更替”吗？
第二，你是否同意将乌克兰作为美国对俄罗斯进行代理人战争的战场？
约翰逊：麦格雷戈上校是一位出色的分析师，但我不同意他的观点——我认为拜登政府中没有那么聪明的人，能够以这些战略术语进行思考和计划。在我看来，过去7年一直是北约现状的惯性。我的意思是，北约和华盛顿相信他们可以继续在俄罗斯边境向东爬行而不会引起俄罗斯反弹。北约和欧盟司令部定期进行演习——包括提供“进攻性”训练——并提供装备给乌克兰。我相信美国有关中央情报局正在为在顿巴斯行动的乌克兰部队提供准军事训练的报导是可信的。但我很难相信，儅我们美国在伊拉克和阿富汗的惨败之后，我们突然有中国孙武级别的战略家在华盛顿出现。
华盛顿有一种绝望的气氛。除了试图禁止所有俄罗斯的产品外，拜登政府还试图欺负中国、印度和沙特阿拉伯。我没有看到这些国家中的任何一个陷入困境。我相信拜登政府试图妖魔化和俄罗斯有关的所有事物和所有人，这是犯了一个致命的错误。但是事与愿违，这种做法反而将俄罗斯人民团结在普京背后，他们准备好了进行长期的斗争。
西方国家错误地认为对俄罗斯的经济制裁会使他们屈服，我对此感到震惊。反之亦然。俄罗斯自给自足，不依赖进口。它的出口对西方的经济福祉至关重要。如果他们不向西方出口小麦、钾肥、天然气、石油、钯、成品镍和其他关键矿产，欧洲和美国的经济将受到重创。而这种通过制裁来胁迫俄罗斯的企图，现在使得美元作为国际储备货币的角色很可能会被扔进历史的垃圾箱。
问四：自2007年在慕尼黑发表著名演讲以来，普京一直在抱怨“全球安全架构”。在乌克兰，我们可以看到这些让人困扰的安全问题如何演变成一场全面战争。如您所知，去年12月，普京提出了多项与俄罗斯安全有关的要求，但拜登政府对此置之不理，从未作出回应。 普京希望得到书面保证，即北约的扩张将不包括乌克兰（北约成员资格），并且核导弹系统不会部署到罗马尼亚或波兰。 你认为普京的要求不合理吗？
约翰逊：我认为普京的要求非常合理。 问题在于99%的美国人不知道过去7年北约和美国对俄罗斯进行了什么样的军事挑衅。公众总是被告知军事北约的演习是“防御性的”。这根本不是真的。 现在我们有消息说美国国防部的国防威胁降级局正在资助乌克兰的生物实验室。如果拜登同意允许在古巴、委内瑞拉和墨西哥部署俄罗斯核导弹系统，我猜普京可能会同意允许美国在波兰和罗马尼亚部署核导弹系统。 当我们从这些角度看待它时，我们可以开始理解普京的要求既不疯狂也不无道理。
问五： 俄罗斯媒体报导称，俄罗斯“高精度空射”导弹袭击了乌克兰西部的一处设施，“造成100多名当地士兵和外国雇佣军死亡”。显然，特种作战训练中心位于距离波兰边境仅15英里的奥夫鲁赫镇附近。关于这次事件，你能告诉我们什么？俄罗斯是否试图向北约传递信息？
约翰逊：简短的回答——是的！过去一周，俄罗斯对乌克兰西部的军事打击令北约官员感到震惊并非常警觉。第一次打击发生在3月13日星期日，在乌克兰的亚沃里夫。俄罗斯用几枚导弹袭击了该基地，据报导有些是高超音速的。超过200人丧生，其中包括美国和英国的军事和情报人员，另有数百人受伤。许多人遭受了诸如截肢之类的灾难性伤口，并正在住院治疗。然而，北约和西方媒体对报导这场灾难几乎没有兴趣。
俄罗斯的MiG-31超音速拦截机携带高超音速 匕首导弹（Kinzhal）（图片来源：俄罗斯总统新闻和信息办公室/CC BY 4.0）
亚沃里夫是北约的重要前沿基地。直到2月俄罗斯入侵乌克兰之前，美国第7陆军训练司令部直到2022年2月中旬还在亚沃里夫开展行动。俄罗斯并没有就此止步。 ASB军事新闻报导俄罗斯袭击了位于亚沃里夫东南60英里处的另一个地点Delyatyn（我相信是星期四）。昨天，俄罗斯袭击了北约先前存在的另一个地点Zytomyr。普京发出了一个非常明确的信息——在乌克兰的北约部队将被视为战斗人员，毋庸置疑。
问六：乌克兰总统泽林斯基被西方媒体誉为“战时领袖”和现代“温斯顿·丘吉尔”。媒体没有告诉读者的是，泽林斯基已经采取了一些强硬措施来加强他对权力的控制，同时破坏了乌克兰脆弱的民主制度。例如，泽林斯基取缔了11个反对派拥有的新闻机构，并试图以虚假的“资助恐怖主义”罪名阻止乌克兰最大反对党领袖维克托·梅德韦丘克竞选公职。这不是一个认真致力于民主的领导人的行为。
你对泽林斯基有什么看法？他真的是媒体所说的“爱国领袖”吗？
约翰逊：泽林斯基是一名喜剧演员和演员。在我看来，他不是一个很好的人。西方玩世不恭地利用他是犹太人这一事实来转移对规模庞大的新纳粹分子队伍的注意力（我的意思是真正的纳粹分子，他们仍然在庆祝乌克兰武装党卫军部队 Ukrainian Waffen SS 在二战中与德国纳粹分子作战时取得的成就）。事实很清楚——他正在取缔反对党并关闭反对派媒体。我想这就是泽林斯基对“民主”的新定义。
西方分析人士预计乌克兰战争的地理终结状态（图片来源：俄罗斯博客网站）
问七：这场战争将如何结束？《阿拉巴马之月网站》上有一篇很棒的帖子，标题为“乌克兰战争的地理终结状态将是什么”。这篇文章的作者伯纳德似乎认为，乌克兰最终将沿着第聂伯河被“和以俄罗斯族人口占多数的海岸向南”分割。他还这样说：
“这将断绝乌克兰进入黑海的通道，并建立一座通往受俄罗斯保护的从摩尔多瓦分离出来的Transnistria 的陆桥。乌克兰的其他地区将是一个土地受限的国家，主要是农业国家，没有武装，而且太穷，无法在短期内对俄罗斯构成新的威胁。在政治上，它将由来自加利西亚（Galicia ）的法西斯主义者主导，这将成为欧盟国家的一个主要问题。”
你怎么看？普京是否会为了加强俄罗斯的安全并结束敌对行动而将自己的领土解决方案强加给乌克兰，还是更有可能出现不同的情况？
约翰逊：我同意《阿拉巴马之月网站》的说法。 普京的主要目标是保护俄罗斯免受外国威胁并与西方脱钩。俄罗斯拥有成为独立主权国家的物质资源，并且正在实现这一愿景。
Larry C. Johnson: “The Ukrainian Army Has Been Defeated. What’s Left Is Mop-Up”
Mike Whitney – The Unz Review March 21, 2022
Question 1– Can you explain to me why you think Russia is winning the war in Ukraine?
Larry C. Johnson– Within the first 24 hours of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, all Ukrainian Ground Radar Intercept capabilities were wiped out. Without those radars, the Ukrainian Air Force lost its ability to do air to air intercept. In the intervening three weeks, Russia has established a de facto No Fly Zone over Ukraine. While still vulnerable to shoulder fired Surface to Air Missiles supplied by the U.S. and NATO to the Ukrainians, there is no evidence that Russia has had to curtail Combat Air Operations.
Russia’s arrival in Kiev within three days of the invasion also caught my attention. I recalled that the Nazi’s in Operation Barbarossa took seven weeks to reach Kiev and the required 7 more weeks to subdue the city. The Nazis had the advantage of not pulling punches to avoid civilian casualties and were eager to destroy critical infrastructure. Yet many so-called American military experts claimed that Russia was bogged down. When a 24 mile (or 40 mile, depends on the news source) was positioned north of Kiev for more than a week, it was clear that Ukraine’s ability to launch significant military operations had been eliminated. If their artillery was intact, then that column was easy pickings for massive destruction. That did not happen. Alternatively, if the Ukrainian’s had a viable fixed wing or rotary wing capability they should have destroyed that column from the air. That did not happen. Or, if they had a viable cruise missile capability they should have rained down hell on the supposedly stalled Russian column. That did not happen. The Ukrainians did not even mount a significant infantry ambush of the column with their newly supplied U.S. Javelins.
The scale and scope of the Russian attack is remarkable. They captured territory in three weeks that is larger than the land mass of the United Kingdom. They then proceeded to carry out targeted attacks on key cities and military installations. We have not seen a single instance of a Ukrainian regiment or brigade size unit attacking and defeating a comparable Russian unit. Instead, the Russians have split the Ukrainian Army into fragments and cut their lines of communication. The Russians are consolidating their control of Mariupol and have secured all approaches on the Black Sea. Ukraine is now cut off in the South and the North.
I would note that the U.S. had a tougher time capturing this much territory in Iraq in 2003 while fighting against a far inferior, less capable military force. If anything, this Russian operation should scare the hell out of U.S. military and political leaders.
The really big news came this week with the Russian missile strikes on what are de facto NATO bases in Yavoriv and Zhytomyr. NATO conducted cyber security training at Zhytomyr in September 2018 and described Ukraine as a “NATO partner.” Zhytomyr was destroyed with hypersonic missiles on Saturday. Yavoriv suffered a similar fate last Sunday. It was the primary training and logistics center that NATO and EUCOM used to supply fighters and weapons to Ukraine. A large number of the military and civilian personnel at that base became casualties.
Not only is Russia striking and destroying bases used by NATO regularly since 2015, but there was no air raid warning and there was no shutdown of the attacking missiles.
Question 2– Why is the media trying to convince the Ukrainian people that they can prevail in their war against Russia? If what you say is correct, then all the civilians that are being sent to fight the Russian army, are dying in a war they can’t win. I don’t understand why the media would want to mislead people on something so serious. What are your thoughts on the matter?
Larry C. Johnson– This is a combination of ignorance and laziness. Rather than do real reporting, the vast majority of the media (print and electronic) as well as Big Tech are supporting a massive propaganda campaign. I remember when George W. Bush was Hitler. I remember when Donald Trump was Hitler. And now we have a new Hitler, Vladimir Putin. This is a tired, failed playbook. Anyone who dares to raise legitimate questions about is immediately tarred as a Putin puppet or a Russia stooge. When you cannot argue facts the only recourse is name calling.
Question 3– Last week, Colonel Douglas MacGregor was a guest on the Tucker Carlson Show. His views on the war are strikingly similar to your own. Here’s what he said in the interview:
“The war is really over for the Ukrainians. They have been ground into bits, there is no question about that despite what we hear from our mainstream media. So, the real question for us at this stage is, Tucker, are we going to live with the Russian people and their government or we going to continue to pursue this sort of regime change dressed up as a Ukrainian war? Are we going to stop using Ukraine as a battering ram against Moscow, which is effectively what we’ve done.” (Tucker Carlson– MacGregor Interview)
Do you agree with MacGregor that the real purpose of goading Russia into a war in Ukraine was “regime change”?
Second, do you agree that Ukraine is being used as a staging ground for the US to carry out a proxy-war on Russia?
Larry C. Johnson– Doug is great analyst but I disagree with him—I don’t think there is anyone in the Biden Administration that is smart enough to think and plan in those strategic terms. In my view the last 7 years have been the inertia of the NATO status quo. What I mean by that is that NATO and Washington, believed they could continue to creep east on Russia’s borders without provoking a reaction. NATO and EUCOM regularly carried out exercises—including providing “offensive” training—and supplied equipment. I believe reports in the United States that the CIA was providing paramilitary training to Ukrainian units operating in the Donbass are credible. But I have trouble believing that after our debacles in Iraq and Afghanistan, we suddenly have Sun Tzu level strategists pulling the strings in Washington.
There is an air of desperation in Washington. Besides trying ban all things Russian, the Biden Administration is trying to bully China, India and Saudi Arabia. I do not see any of those countries falling into line. I believe the Biden crew made a fatal mistake by trying to demonize all things and all people Russian. If anything, this is uniting the Russian people behind Putin and they are ready to dig in for a long struggle.
I am shocked at the miscalculation in thinking economic sanctions on Russia would bring them to their knees. The opposite is true. Russia is self-sufficient and is not dependent on imports. Its exports are critical to the economic well-being of the West. If they withhold wheat, potash, gas, oil, palladium, finished nickel and other key minerals from the West, the European and U.S. economies will be savaged. And this attempt to coerce Russia with sanctions has now made it very likely that the U.S. dollar’s role as the international reserve currency will show up in the dustbin of history.
Question 4– Ever since he delivered his famous speech in Munich in 2007, Putin has been complaining about the “architecture of global security”. In Ukraine we can see how these nagging security issues can evolve into a full-blown war. As you know, in December Putin made a number of demands related to Russian security, but the Biden administration shrugged them off and never responded. Putin wanted written assurances that NATO expansion would not include Ukraine (membership) and that nuclear missile systems would not be deployed to Romania or Poland. Do you think Putin’s demands are unreasonable?
Larry C. Johnson– I think Putin’s demands are quite reasonable. The problem is that 99% of Americans have no idea of the kind of military provocation that NATO and the U.S. have carried out over the last 7 years. The public was always told the military exercises were “defensive.” That simply is not true. Now we have news that DTRA was funding biolabs in Ukraine. I guess Putin could agree to allow U.S. nuclear missile systems in Poland and Romania if Biden agrees to allow comparable Russian systems to be deployed in Cuba, Venezuela and Mexico. When we look at it in those terms we can begin to understand that Putin’s demands are not crazy nor unreasonable.
Question 5– Russian media reports that Russian “high precision, air-launched” missiles struck a facility in west Ukraine “killing more than 100 local troops and foreign mercenaries.” Apparently, the Special Operations training center was located near the town of Ovruch which is just 15 miles from the Polish border. What can you tell us about this incident? Was Russia trying to send a message to NATO?
Larry C. Johnson– Short answer—YES! Russian military strikes in Western Ukraine during the past week have shocked and alarmed NATO officials. The first blow came on Sunday, March 13 at Yavoriv, Ukraine. Russia hit the base with several missiles, some reportedly hypersonic. Over 200 personnel were killed, which included American and British military and intelligence personnel, and hundreds more wounded. Many suffered catastrophic wounds, such as amputations, and are in hospital. Yet, NATO and the western media have shown little interest in reporting on this disaster.
Yavoriv was an important forward base for NATO (see here). Until February (prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine), the U.S. 7th Army Training Command was operating from Yavoriv as late as mid-February. Russia has not stopped there. ASB Military news reports Russia hit another site, Delyatyn, which is 60 miles southeast of Yavoriv (on Thursday I believe). Yesterday, Russia hit Zytomyr, another site where NATO previously had a presence. Putin has sent a very clear message—NATO forces in Ukraine will be viewed and treated as combatants. Period.
Question 6– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been lionized in the western media as a “wartime leader” and a modern-day “Winston Churchill”. What the media fails to tell its readers is that Zelensky has taken a number of steps to strengthen his grip on power while damaging fragile democratic institutions in Ukraine. For example, Zelensky has “banned eleven opposition-owned news organizations” and tried to bar the head of Ukraine’s largest opposition party, Viktor Medvedchuk, from running for office on a bogus “terrorist financing” charge. This is not the behavior of a leader that is seriously committed to democracy.
What’s your take on Zelensky? Is he really the “patriotic leader” the media makes him out to be?
Larry C. Johnson– Zelensky is a comedian and an actor. Not a very good one at that in my view. The West is cynically using the fact he is Jewish as a diversion from the size-able contingent of Neo-Nazis (and I mean genuine Nazis who still celebrate the Ukrainian Waffen SS unit’s accomplishments while fighting with the Nazis in WW II). The facts are clear—he is banning opposition political parties and shutting down opposition media. I guess that is the new definition of “democracy.”
Question 7– How does this end? There’s an excellent post at the Moon of Alabama site titled “What Will Be The Geographic End State Of The War In Ukraine“. The author of the post, Bernard, seems to think that Ukraine will eventually be partitioned along the Dnieper River “and south along the coast that holds a majority ethnic Russian population.” He also says this:
“This would eliminate Ukrainian access to the Black Sea and create a land bridge towards the Moldavian breakaway Transnistria which is under Russian protection. The rest of the Ukraine would be a land confined, mostly agricultural state, disarmed and too poor to be build up to a new threat to Russia anytime soon. Politically it would be dominated by fascists from Galicia which would then become a major problem for the European Union.”
What do you think? Will Putin impose his own territorial settlement on Ukraine in order to reinforce Russian security and bring the hostilities to an end or is a different scenario more likely?
Larry C. Johnson– I agree with Moon. Putin’s primary objective is to secure Russia from foreign threats and effect a divorce with the West. Russia has the physical resources to be an independent sovereign and is in the process of making that vision come true.
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Bio– Larry C Johnson is a veteran of the CIA and the State Department’s Office of Counter Terrorism. He is the founder and managing partner of BERG Associates, which was established in 1998. Larry provided training to the US Military’s Special Operations community for 24 years. He has been vilified by the right and the left, which means he must be doing something right. His analysis and commentary can be found at his blog, https://sonar21.com/