While the Ukrainian issue is somewhat distant from the West’s attention due to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian armed faction Hamas, a diagnosis has been made that Ukraine is fighting an difficult battle in the war with Russia due to not only reduced Western support, but also internal corruption and entrenched battle lines.
American current affairs weekly magazine on the 30th (local time) <타임>The newspaper reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, and had interviews with Zelensky and his associates to find out how Ukraine actually feels about the changed atmosphere in the West since his visit to the United States last September.
In this interview, President Zelenskyy said, “No one believes that we will win as much as I do,” the media reported. This is because the West, including the United States, which promised full support when Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, is showing passive support as more than a year and a half has passed since the war.
The media said, “When President Zelenskyy visited Washington at the end of last year, the United States welcomed him, calling him a ‘hero.’ But this time, the mood has changed. Support for Ukraine has become an obstacle in the debate over the federal budget.” “One of Lensky’s foreign policy advisers told him to cancel the visit,” he said.
In fact, Zelenskyy said he felt interest in the war had decreased during this visit and said, “The most scary thing is that the world has become accustomed to the war in Ukraine.” He said, “The fatigue caused by war is spreading like a wave,” and “(this fatigue) can be seen in the United States and Europe.”
The media said, “Ukraine’s counteroffensive was fought with enormous losses, and it became increasingly difficult for Zelensky to convince his Western partners (such as the United States) that victory was at hand,” and “As the war began in Israel, the world’s interest in Ukraine increased.” “Even protecting it has become a major challenge,” he diagnosed the current situation.
On the day of his visit to Kiev, the media asked a close associate of President Zelensky how he was feeling, and without hesitating even for a second, the media reported that he was “angry.” President Zelensky, who was optimistic and joked in the early days of the war, has changed as the second year of the war approaches. They said it disappeared.
A close associate who has been with Zelensky for a long time also said that the president feels betrayed by Western countries, saying, “These days, (President Zelensky) comes to the war situation room, gets new information, gives orders, and then goes out.”
▲ On September 21 (local time), U.S. President Joe Biden (left) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a bilateral summit at the White House in Washington, DC. ⓒUPI=Yonhap News
However, despite the defeat in the recent battle, the media reported that President Zelenskyy is not giving up the war or making any attempt to pursue peace. One of President Zelenskyy’s closest aides confided to the media, “He is mistaken. We have no choice. We cannot win.”
“Some aides say Zelenskiy’s stubbornness is hindering the team’s efforts to come up with a new strategy, a new message,” the media said. “As they discuss the future of the war, they talk about the possibility of negotiating a peace deal with Russia. “It has been taboo to mention it,” he said. The media’s analysis is that this is due to public opinion within Ukraine.
Zelenskyy is said to still be opposed to a temporary ceasefire. “It means opening this wound for future generations,” he said of the ceasefire. “Maybe it will calm some people inside and outside our country, but it is still an explosive issue,” he said. “(The ceasefire) will only delay this explosion.” He made a statement saying:
However, in Ukraine, negative public opinion is also being created due to the prolongation of the war. “Now that Russia has attacked Ukraine’s infrastructure, damaging power plants and parts of the power grid, it may be unable to meet surging demand as temperatures drop,” the media said. “Three senior officials working on the issue said: “The power outages will become more severe this winter, and the public reaction in Ukraine will not be so lenient,” he said.
According to the media, these officials were concerned that “last year (winter) people blamed the Russians,” and that “this time they will blame us for not being sufficiently prepared.”
The situation on the battlefield, including eastern Ukraine, is not developing in Ukraine’s favor. The media reported that the cold was making it difficult for the military to advance and that there had been no significant changes to the front lines since spring.
“We are not moving forward,” one of Zelenskyy’s associates said, according to media reports, adding that some commanders on the front lines of the war began refusing orders to advance when they came to the president’s office. “They (front-line commanders) just want to sit in the trenches and maintain the defense line,” the aide said.
For example, earlier this month, President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian government wanted to reclaim Gorlovka, but the front line responded by saying, “We have neither men nor weapons. Where are the weapons and cannons and where should we recruit troops?”, the media reported.
He added, “In some military organizations, the lack of manpower has become a more serious problem than the lack of weapons and ammunition,” adding, “One of Zelenskyy’s close aides said that even if the United States and its allies gave weapons, there would not be the people to use them.”
In the early days of the invasion, many Ukrainian men joined the military, but now “those with incomes sometimes bribe their way out of the military by paying for military service benefits,” the media analysis said. For this reason, President Zelenskyy fired the heads of conscription offices across the country on August 11.
This was to demonstrate his commitment to fighting corruption. But according to a senior military officer, this backfired, bringing new recruits to a near halt. Another problem was that as the reputation of some conscription offices suffered, there was no one to handle conscription duties.
The corruption issue has also strained relations between Zelenskyy and many of his allies. According to the media, the White House reportedly prepared a list of reforms to fight corruption ahead of his visit to Washington. An aide who traveled to the United States with Zelensky said the offer was aimed at very high-ranking officials and was “not an offer, it was a condition.”
To address the concerns of the United States, President Zelensky took measures such as dismissing his close associate, Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov. The media reported that President Zelensky told his staff not to pursue personal interests, but executive branch officials complained of low morale as their work came under scrutiny.
The media said, “In early October, when I mentioned corruption and war to the president’s direct aide, the aide asked me to turn off the tape recorder and said that (Ukrainian) people are stealing as if there was no tomorrow.” It is unlikely that the corruption situation in Ukraine will be resolved quickly. It was expected to be difficult.
This aide said, “The officials did not feel fear about the dismissal of the Minister of Defense because it took too long for the actual dismissal,” and added, “The President was warned in February that corruption within the Ministry of Defense was widespread, but he remained silent for more than six months.” He said.
The media also reported that Rostislav Shurma, President Zelenskyy’s economic and energy policy adviser, has a brother who co-owns a power plant and solar energy company in southern Ukraine, despite Russia’s occupation of the region preventing it from supplying electricity to Ukraine. The companies continued to receive payments from the state for electricity production, Ukrainian investigative media reported. <비후스>cited the report.
The media said, “Ukraine’s independent agency, the anti-corruption police, opened an embezzlement investigation against Shurma and his brother, but Zelenskyy did not suspend the adviser. Instead, in late September, Shurma joined the presidential delegation to Washington and was sent to the Biden administration. He also reported that he met with high-ranking officials, raising doubts about President Zelenskyy’s will to eradicate corruption.
▲ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the 11th (local time), attended a meeting of NATO defense ministers and held a press briefing. ⓒAFP=Yonhap News
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2023-10-31 08:51:46
