Ukraine War: Mölling sees “Discounter approach” for Ukraine aid failed

According to security expert Christian Mölling, the West has failed in its attempt to help Ukraine achieve a military victory over the Russian invaders with limited support. Mölling said on Friday in the stern podcast “Ukraine – the situation”the counteroffensive by the Ukrainian armed forces that began in the summer had brought progress here and there, but decisive advances – for example to the Sea of ​​Azov – were not successful. “It wasn’t a big hit”said the research director of the German Society for Foreign Policy. The reasons for this also lie in the hesitant attitude of the West, which only Ukraine “with the handbrake on” have supported. “That’s when people look back at us because we thought that maybe we could somehow manage it with a discounter approach”, he said. That was a mistake: “With the approach that the West has taken so far in supporting Ukraine, we will not be able to do it.”

Ukrainian counteroffensive “not a big hit”

Not only larger quantities of weapons and material are required, but also better training for Ukrainian soldiers. Mölling expected that the Russian armed forces would use the coming winter to dig in deeper. He explained that the Russians have improved their ability to repair and replace damaged material. At the same time, they continued to ruthlessly send their own soldiers to their deaths. “This has nothing to do with war skills”he emphasized. “They are brutal”. Countering this is significantly more difficult than expected at the beginning of the counteroffensive.

“At the beginning, the Ukrainians thought they were going into a tough fight”said Mölling. But that turned out to be wrong. Small teams would have had to laboriously work their way forward. Even if the Ukrainian soldiers had prepared well for this challenge, such major breakthroughs were not possible.

Watch the video: Honest insight into life during war – Ukrainian soldier suffers nervous breakdown.

“habituation effect” of the war in Ukraine

Mölling emphasized that the outcome of the war in Ukraine is also extremely important for security in Western Europe. It is in our interest to strengthen Ukraine. However, he observes that domestic political issues such as migration or the cost of living in Germany are increasingly overshadowing foreign policy. There are similar developments in other countries. This “habituation effect” of the war in Ukraine had already begun before Hamas’ terror against Israel. The Ukrainians were preparing for the fact that their struggle would receive less attention in Western societies. For example, they tried to produce as much as possible themselves for the war – even if this did not compensate for the necessary deliveries from their partners.