Western media and sources say that the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the conflict with Russia would be slow, ineffective, or even poorly prepared, which exasperated the government of Volodymyr Zelensky, who again demanded more arms and ammunition to win the war. But from the European Union Skepticism about a hypothetical victory has already appeared.
For a month now, in what appear to be several organized leaks, the US media have quoted anonymous military officials criticizing the strategy of Ukraine. Basically, they blame her for a certain “dispersion” at the front.
“Recently, a new story has begun to take root, especially on the part of Pentagon officials, according to whom the offensive would be a real disappointment,” he said. Lawrence Freedman of King’s College London. “Questions are being raised about whether Ukraine will be able to win” the war, she even warned.
The offensive “is slow, it is bloody, there are many losses on one side and on the other,” he told AFP the US chief of staff, Mark Milley.
“It is fair to say that the Ukrainians have been partially successful so far. They penetrated at least the first defensive belt, they are attacking the second,” he added.
But Boguslawa Paceka retired Polish general, considered, on the portal biznesalertwhich, given the pace of the counter-offensive, could not “be expected to reach its objectives before the rainy season this year.”
The pessimism of the European Union on the war
Robert BriegerChairman of the Military Committee of the European Union (EU)went even further in the daily Die Welt. “It is worth asking if the full sovereignty of Ukraine with the means available,” he declared. “A military victory for Ukraine may be an attractive way out of this war, but it is not to be foreseen.”
On Thursday, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kulebarebelled: “Criticizing the slowness of the counteroffensive is tantamount to spitting in the face of the Ukrainian soldier who is sacrificing his life,” he launched on the sidelines of a meeting of foreign ministers from countries of the EU in Spain.
One year after the presidential elections USA“you want to get results fairly quickly and show that US aid is worth something,” said the military historian michel goya.
From this point of view, Ukraine can be praised for at least one thing: its constancy. Your president, Volodymyr Zelenskyhas not stopped asking its allies for more weapons since the conflict began.
In one of those communication campaigns that the president is so fond of, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense published on Thursday in X (ex-Twitter) a video with the comment: “Now everyone is an expert on how we should fight. A polite reminder that no one understands this war better than we do.”
Between two images of artillery fire and some ladies kissing soldiers, the video insists: “we would like to humbly remind you that if we had listened to what non-Ukrainians were saying in February 2022, we would no longer exist. We need ammunition, not advice.”
On balance, it seems that Ukraine can continue to rely on help from its allies. Ivan Klyszcz, researcher at the International Center for Defense and Security (ICDS) in Estonia, dismisses the idea of a “fracture”.
“In Ukrainethere are those who have wondered to what extent the partners of the Ukrainian government truly share its military objectives, that is, to fully restore the territorial integrity of the country,” he explained. Klyszcz told AFP.
Source: Ambito
