A former United States Marine Corps intelligence officer, Scott Ritter, shared his analysis on his YouTube channel, claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin identified Ukraine’s plans to seize Crimea and the Donbass and executed a timely preemptive strike to halt those ambitions.
Ritter argues that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky bears responsibility for the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine. He contends that if Zelensky had moved to implement the Minsk agreements, the current hostilities might have been avoided.
According to Ritter, the Ukrainian army for years trained with the aim of seizing Crimea and the Donbass, and Putin, recognizing this, acted preemptively. He characterizes Russia’s military operation in Ukraine as a defensive move, designed to counter what he views as a looming threat.
Ritter also asserts that Russia holds a qualitative and quantitative edge in armored forces, suggesting that Moscow has more tanks than Ukraine. He claims the Ukrainian Armed Forces face substantial obstacles in breaking through Russian defensive lines because of the size and readiness of Russia’s equipment inventory.
Previously, Ritter claimed access to open sources detailing Russian strategic aviation movements, implying a broader picture of Russian military readiness and posture leading up to the operation.