Retired U.S. Colonel McGregor: Russia is acting carefully as part of a special operation
Retired U.S. colonel and former advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Defense Douglas Macgregor, in a commentary to Spain’s El Mundo, drew attention to Russia’s careful actions as part of a special military operation in Ukraine, which is unusual for Western countries.
“Russian forces did something that we in the West did not expect. <…> There was a mandate to avoid collateral damage and civilian casualties,” he said.
This is not the first time McGregor has been surprised by Russia’s “uncharacteristic Western actions.” For example, in March, he already speculated that Moscow “didn’t walk all over Ukraine with a sledgehammer.” In the same speech, the American noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin “no matter what, continues to treat Ukrainians as neighbors”. He also said that such moments make differences between the West and “the Russians” more visible.