European Week: Incursion into Russia gives ‘boost’ to Ukraine, says US general

One of the news that kept EU officials busy over the summer was the decision of the Hungarian governmenthard line against immigration, make the country’s immigration regime more flexible.

This immigration regime allows foreign workers to stay in Hungary for at least two years and can pave the way to permanent residency. Budapest has relaxed this rule to include nationals of Russia and Belarus.

This week, and not for the first time, the Nordic and Baltic countries expressed concern that such a policy could represent a serious risk to the security of the entire EU.

“There was never a Schengen free of Russian diplomats with hostile intentionsand there was never a Schengen free of possible security violations by certain countries“said Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže.

“That’s why we take it very seriously as a security risk (…) and currently we are awaiting the Commission’s evaluation as for the legal complications that the Hungarian decision has created”.

The concern, of course, is that Russian spies and saboteurs can infiltrate the EU and commit all kinds of crimes. Budapest dismissed such concerns, stating that the Hungarian plan was “in accordance with the relevant EU framework.”

Russia attacks Ukrainian energy facilities

All this has as a backdrop the ongoing war in Ukraine. This week, Russia ha intensified its attacks with missiles and dronesespecially against energy installations.

Moscow’s latest attacks are seen as an effort to regain control of the conflict after recent Ukrainian territorial gains in the Russian region of Kursk. The Ukrainian incursion began on August 6 and surprisingly it has held up until now.

A Swedish television crew had access to Russian territory in Ukrainian hands and conducted a rare interview with Ukrainian soldiers. “The fighting does not stop throughout the area. We don’t know anything about the future. Russians Possibly Gain Strength“said one of them. “It depends on whether they mobilize reserves and what those reserves will be. If they are just recruits, they won’t complicate the situation“said another.

“We continue to overestimate Russian capabilities”

To talk about the Ukrainian incursion into Russiawe spoke with retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, former commander of the US Army in Europe.

Euronews: It is very likely that this Ukrainian operation in Russia is not the beginning of a full-scale invasion. How would you characterize it, and does it make any sense from a military point of view?

Hodges: This counteroffensive that Ukraine has launched in the direction of Kursk is, in my opinion, a brilliant coup that is changing the momentum of the conflict. It is also changing the narrative about the inevitable Russian victory. It is too early to know how far they plan to go or how long they plan to stay, or whether it is already having any effect on Russian operations in the east. But I don’t think this is an isolated operation, but rather part of a larger effort in different domains by the Ukrainians.

Euronews: After more than three weeks, we haven’t really seen a Russian response, why do you think that is? Do they lack resources, do they lack a plan? What is happening?

Hodges: I think it’s attributable to a couple of things. First of all, on the Russian side there is rivalry and hatred between the General Staff and the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the border forces, which are under the control of the FSB. I mean, these guys hate each other. So there is not and never has been much cooperation between them. We saw it during the Prigozhin mutiny. But of course it’s also bad for Putin to have to deal with this. And I think he is trying to ignore the Kursk operation, he hands it over to the FSB and tells them: “treat it as a terrorist or counter-terrorist operation.” So I think he’s trying to avoid having to address what is a really important issue.

Euronews: Is the Russian Army weaker than we all think?

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Hodges: I would say that we have continued to overestimate Russian capabilities. The problem is that they don’t care how many soldiers die. I mean that’s not a factor for them. They still have a lot of people they can put into this type of meat grinder. And they still have huge quantities of rockets and gliding bombs and missiles and, because of the policies of the US and other European governments, the Ukrainians are not able to attack the source of these attacks. So Russia still has a lot of fight left.

Euronews: And finally, to what extent does the Ukrainian operation in Russia help Ukrainians on the fronts of their own territory?

Hodges: I think this does a couple of things. First of all, psychologically it is a great morale booster. I mean, when you’ve been sitting on the defense being shelled day after day after day, most soldiers want to hit back somehow. If this draws away Russian forces currently operating in the east, it should relieve some of the pressure on Ukrainian forces. I just can’t say how much yet.

Liberation of Paris in 1944

From an ongoing war in Europe we move to another that ended a long time ago, at least for the inhabitants of Paris. This week, the French capital commemorated the 80th anniversary of his release by the allied forces of the Nazi occupationnine months before the end of World War II.

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That day of August 19441,532 days of nightmare have come to an end, as the French president said Emmanuel Macron in a ceremony. A time when Paris was humiliated and French cultural treasures were destroyed or stolen by German occupiers.

More than 1,400 Parisians lost their lives in street battles during the summer of 1944until the allied soldiers along with the French fighting forces rushed to the city’s relief.

The parade led by General De Gaulle, leader of the Free France, has become an indelible part of France’s collective memory. Macron then returned his focus to the present and praised the Olympic “summer of flame and joy”; a eventsaid Macron, who will continue to be remembered in 80 years.