In fact, the US had high-quality intelligence on Russian preparations and took the unprecedented decision, several weeks before the invasion, to make the information public in an attempt to put pressure on Putin.Īlexandre Papaemmanuel, professor at the Institute of Political Studies (IEP) in Paris and a specialist in intelligence, said Washington had employed a new tactic in using intelligence to try to pressurise a foreign leader. “Our services rather thought that the invasion of Ukraine would have a monstrous cost and that the Russians had other options” to achieve their goals, he said. “The Americans said the Russians were going to attack and they were right,” said Burkhard, who has won admirers during the conflict for his frank assessments of the situation. In early March France‘s top general, Thierry Burkhard, admitted in an interview with Le Monde newspaper that there had been differences in the analyses between France and the US over what would happen in Ukraine. The issue is particularly sensitive as Macron has largely avoided campaigning for the presidential election in April to focus on dealing with the war, aiming to burnish his image as a global statesman.
Senior figures from Emmanuel Macron’s government insisted there was no suggestion of a full-scale invasion and the French president kept diplomacy going to the last minute, meeting Putin in person in the Kremlin and trying to set up a summit with the US president, Joe Biden. In the months before Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, France’s assessments had contrasted with the gloomy predictions by allies including the US and Britain who said a serious military assault was imminent.
The source confirmed a report on L’Opinion website citing an internal defence ministry investigation that criticised “insufficient briefings” and “failure to master the issues”.Īnother source told AFP that there had been rumours within the army concerning the departure of the general in recent days, with the possibility that another post could have been offered to him, though in the end this was not the case.
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