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Putin ‘miscalculated badly’ on Ukraine, says former diplomat
STORY: “It’s very clear that the Ukrainian military is ready to fight. It’s very clear that (Ukrainian) President Zelenskiy is ready to fight. He’s called up the reserves today. He’s declared a state of emergency today. He has prepared his country to fight Ukraine. President Putin has united Ukrainians against him,” he told Reuters.Russia this week recognized two breakaway Ukrainian regions, including Pushilin’s, as independent states, drawing sanctions from the West and anger from Ukraine which calls people like Pushilin Russian proxies and wants its territory back.Recently back from Ukraine, a country he has served twice, Taylor said that country is united. “The Ukrainian people are so opposed, frankly, they hate President Putin. He has he has created a hostile nation on his border for generations. And I’m sure he is surprised …Yes, he has miscalculated badly,” Taylor said.Taylor expressed confidence in the preparedness of the Ukrainian military to fight back against the larger Russian army, if it came to that. “So far in the last 20 years, he has not committed the Russian military to actually fighting… If he tried to go all the way to achieve his military is probably strong enough to do that after a fight, after a bloody fight, he could probably do that. However, he could not hold it…. So I think he can get into Ukraine, but he will be driven out,” he said, adding that he is still hopeful that tougher sanctions could open back a diplomatic solution.Taylor also advocated for supporting Ukraine, saying: “we should do everything to make Ukraine stronger. We should do everything, including the more weapons, more equipment to make Ukraine’s military able to resist him so that he knows if he sends his Russian soldiers into fight Ukrainians, they will fight hard and they will fight well.”
