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US President Biden and Secretary General Stoltenberg of NATO together with the CIA “Institute for the Study of War” and all US mainstream media repeat that Russia has lost and Ukraine is winning.
However, in a video-interview released today 3 June 2023 by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Zelensky is clearly a worn man who is not winning. The headline of the WSJ is “Ready for Counteroffensive”, but the content reveals that the contrary is the case. Zelensky has tensions in the face. Just a few weeks ago, Zelensky’s top general Zaluzhnyi reportedly suffered a Russian air strike. We don’t know exactly what happened to Zaluzhnyi, but looking at the latest video released, Zaluzhnyi clearly does no longer radiate the strength to command soldiers in war. Just a few days ago, Ukraine’s top military security chief Budanov may have suffered the same or a worse fate as Zaluzhnyi, as Russia hit Ukraine’s security HQ with a big missile strike in Kiev. With this and the big purges in Kiev’s top at the beginning of 2023, Zelensky does not have people around him which he used to have. After Ukraine’s attempt to hit Putin with a drone-attack on the Kremlin, Zelensky himself may not even be really safe anymore.
As the ex-comedian starts his stage-speak, Zelensky feels more at ease. But when Zelensky then says ”We strongly believe we will succeed” his eyes make a flicker to the side. Intermittently playing some archive pictures, the journalist’s voice-over adds: ”Zelensky says he did not have enough firepower to defend his whole country.”
Repeatedly, Ukraine postpones its much touted ”biggest counteroffensive”.
First, the explanation was that “weapons have not arrived”.
Soon after, Sec. Gen. Stoltenberg invalidated Zelensky’s excuse for postponement by announcing, that all promised NATO weapons had been delivered.
Ukraine then used the explanation that “the ground is muddy” due to the thaw of snow and the rain of the Spring. As the WSJ explains, “Western officials said they thought Ukraine’s counterattack was imminent, and that Kyiv was waiting for the ground to dry out.” We are now in June, and the “muddy” excuse is clearly no longer valid either.
Zelensky now postpones the “counteroffensive” with a third explanation that Ukraine is hoping for 48 more Patriot air defense batteries for a total of 50 batteries, which Zelensky knows NATO does not have the stockpile or the production capacity to deliver without seriously compromising NATO countries’ own security.
Due to the “Pentagon leaks”, it was announced and expected even in US media, that Ukraine by end of May would run out of air defense missiles. Now beginning of June, we see the devastating consequences of Russian air power hammering Ukraine.
Zelensky admits that Russia has air superiority and even admits that “everyone knows perfectly well that any counteroffensive without air superiority is very dangerous.” Because Ukraine postpones its “biggest counteroffensive” several months more, worse is to come: By late Summer 2023, Ukraine will run out of artillery shells too.
Ukraine is already at a serious disadvantage in artillery firepower, but in 1-2 months, Ukraine will be dead at the front for lack of artillery support. We also see at the front, that Ukraine is holding back its forces to reduce losses, and currently the Ukrainian loss of armored vehicles is down from over 30 units per day to 10-15 units per day plus a couple of tanks and artillery pieces. Even at that “lower” loss-rate, Ukraine will still lose 600-900 armored vehicles the next two months, while Ukraine waits for the Godot-missiles, the 50 Patriot batteries that will never come. For context, Ukraine received around 1,200 armored vehicles from NATO. Before late Summer 2023, Russia will just roll-over Ukraine.
In the interview, we also see Zelensky getting nervous that NATO seemingly hasn’t sent Zelensky signals that NATO will promise membership to Ukraine after the war. Asked directly by the journalist, whether Zelensky believes he will get a NATO guarantee for Ukrainian membership, Zelensky’s face flickers repeatedly, and Zelensky’s words stumble when he answers “I…I don’t know.” Saying so, Zelensky cringes his hands. Zelensky is clearly scared, that Ukrainian neutrality could be held as a bargaining chip by NATO for later talks with Russia.
Ukraine and Zelensky are sinking now.
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Karsten Riise is a Master of Science (Econ) from Copenhagen Business School and has a university degree in Spanish Culture and Languages from Copenhagen University. He is the former Senior Vice President Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Mercedes-Benz in Denmark and Sweden.
He is a regular contributor to Global Research.
Featured image is from the author
