​Czech President Petr Pavel, a former NATO commander, says Ukraine will have only one chance for a successful large-scale offensive against Russian forces before “fatigue” sets in both in Kyiv and in Western offices.

Speaking about the long-awaited spring offensive of Ukraine, Pavel said in a wide-ranging interview with the Polish newspaper Reczpospolita that “it should happen in a few months. This year, the window of opportunity is open.”

But he said that “after next winter it will be extremely difficult to maintain the current level of aid”.

“War fatigue is not only the depletion of human resources and equipment, the destruction of infrastructure in Ukraine, but also fatigue in the countries providing aid. Many countries, many politicians expect some progress this year. I think that Ukraine will have only one attempt to launch a major counteroffensive,” he explained.

“Therefore, if [Ucraina] decides to launch a major counter-offensive, and it fails, it will be extremely difficult to get funds for the next one,” said Petr Pavel, who was chairman of NATO’s Military Committee from 2015 to 2018 and chief of NATO’s General Staff. Armed forces of the Czech army from 2012 to 2015 with the rank of general.

Petro Pavel highly appreciates the military command of Ukraine

When asked by Polish journalists where this offensive could take place, he stated that “I will never answer such a question, also because it would be a clue to the other side.”

“By the way, the command structure of the Ukrainian army is probably the most experienced in the world right now. It would be very difficult to find another country that could now match Ukraine in terms of experience in such an intense struggle. I’m sure they know exactly what to do,” he added.

When asked about the image of the Russian army before the start of the war on February 24 last year, Pavlo answered that “Russia in practice created an image of its power and influence as a Potemkiniad (without a facade that hides the reality).”

“This illusion worked not only on us, but also on Russian society and leaders. Even Putin himself apparently believed that the Russian army, if not the strongest, then one of the strongest in the world. He believed that the Ukrainian army is in a deplorable state, and the West is in such a state that they cannot agree on any issue among themselves,” the Czech president said.

“All this was the result of a wrong perception of reality. Therefore, Russia is not successful in Ukraine, and we are much stronger than we were before this war,” he emphasized.

The president of the Czech Republic talks about Russia’s defeat

“I hope that we – I mean the countries that support Ukraine, and Ukraine itself – will be able to achieve the defeat of Russia in Ukraine. And let’s weaken Russia so much that it will not be able to start aggression against anyone,” he added.

“We also need to start looking for ways to reach out to individual Russians to work together on a better future for Russia. It would be a big mistake to put all Russians in one bag. At the same time, we cannot return to the usual regime without changing the Russian regime inside the country. It is simply impossible,” said the Czech president.

He claims that forgiving Moscow for starting the war in Ukraine “would encourage Russian leaders to start a new conflict in the near future.”

“We must still be determined to weaken the Russian regime so that the Russian people understand that what they did was a mistake. And that the only future is dialogue and ultimately cooperation, not aggression,” Pyotr Pavel emphasized.

Pavel, a staunch supporter of Ukraine, was sworn in as president of the Czech Republic on March 9 after defeating populist former prime minister Andrej Babis in elections held in late January.

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