opinion
Putin attacks and Ukraine stands firm even if it cannot win. The West, which has left the country in the lurch, is benefiting most from the resistance.
Russia attacked neighboring Ukraine on Thursday. After a short preparation by air and missile strikes, Russian tanks rolled through the country. Just as the West predicted in worst-case scenarios. This is not about expanding the self-proclaimed republics in the east by a few areas, nor is it about creating a land connection to Crimea. Putin’s goal is the destruction of all of free Ukraine as we know it.
What is really surprising is how little time the Kremlin took for a preparatory air and missile offensive. One reason is that Russia does not have as many precision weapons at its disposal as the United States, and that Putin saves most of them to continue to use threats to keep the West from actively supporting Ukraine. In addition, Russia’s military has perfected the concept of “cheap destruction” in recent years. The intelligent use of cheap “dumb” weapons is what makes a war for a country like Russia financially viable.
With the quick attack, Putin also robbed Kiev of time. In the event of air raids lasting days or even weeks, the West might have pulled itself together to provide active support. Perhaps Ukraine would then have accepted Finlandization, thus robbing Putin of his war. Now already on the day 2 Russian tanks are in front of the capital Kiev. Although Western experts scoff at seeing what is essentially a 1970s-style war, this objection becomes irrelevant when the “old-fashioned” war crushes Ukraine in no time. And Putin needs the “Super Blitz”.
The faster the more powerful
As a signal to the outside world. The faster he crushes Ukraine, the more fear and terror Russian military power will spread. The war in Ukraine is not about Ukraine alone. Russia wants to present itself as a military superpower that no country can resist. In other words, should Ukraine be defeated and Belarus move even closer to Moscow, Russian troops will soon be in Lviv and Brest. Then Warsaw would be in the same exposed position as Kiev.
The war in Ukraine is not popular. The alleged provocations by Ukraine are so crudely faked that no one can believe them. Irrespective of Putin’s historical distortions and ideological differences, the population of both countries sees Russians and Ukrainians as brother peoples. That’s why hardly anyone could have imagined this raid until the very end. There are still a few courageous people demonstrating against Putin’s war, but if the war drags on and Russian losses increase, Putin’s popularity will plummet.
And one thing became clear on the first day: the Russians will suffer casualties. Because of the resistance of the Ukrainian troops, but also because the Russian military accepts losses in exchange for speed. With this mentality of generals, a long war will also result in great casualties. That’s another reason why Putin needs a quick victory.
Kiev’s resistance protects the West
Above all, one thing is shameful: what the “cowardly” West needs most is a heroic Ukraine. Kyiv cannot win the war and could – rationally speaking – capitulate today to spare the country further bloodshed and destruction. But for Western Europeans, a quick triumph for Putin would be a nightmare. “We” benefit when Russia doesn’t succeed, when the Ukrainians hold out in a hopeless situation. The higher the Russian casualties and the more difficult the struggle, the more Putin’s superpower ego is choked. And all the more time there is for “We’re sending 5,000 old helmets” Germany to build up a halfway functional army.
Source: Stern
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