President Zelenskiy of Ukraine visits the United States/Yuri Gripas/UPI/Shutterstock
2023.12.18 Mon posted at 17:55 JST
(CNN) Ukraine is facing the problem of people mistaking people for waving when they are drowning. I am having a hard time saying just how bad the war situation is.
It is not a good idea to frankly declare that the war situation is on the decline, as this could lead to a decline in morale and a decline in support. When then-President Obama sent more troops to Afghanistan, public support waned over the years, partly due to a lack of realism about the outcome of the war.
Ukraine’s inability to communicate its situation so well is largely due to the narrow perspective of its allies.
The lack of understanding on the part of the U.S. House of Representatives is astonishing. A member of the House of Representatives said last week that Ukraine should provide a specific amount and clear and concise goals. I am stunned by Congress’ forgetfulness and lack of understanding, even though the United States has brought itself to war twice in 20 years and has spent trillions of dollars.
Instead, the Ukrainian government emphasizes its achievements thus far and its future goals. It has recaptured about half of the territory lost to Russia last year and inflicted strategic damage on the Russian military in the Black Sea. Although he could not provide details, President Zelenskiy said that plans are being drawn up for 2024.
But in fact, for the Ukrainian government, the most useful headline is that the situation on the front is indescribably dire. Everywhere you look there is almost gloomy news. Russian troops are concentrated in parts of the eastern city of Ausiiivka, and despite its marginal importance, the Russian government appears content to send large numbers of soldiers there. In the end, the front line of Zaporizhzhia, which was the center of the counterattack, was slow to achieve any results, and the Russian army made a comeback, inflicting heavy casualties on the Ukrainian side. The Ukrainians eagerly (or recklessly) crossed the Dnipro River and made small inroads into the Russian lines. But the human cost is high, supply lines are in trouble, and the outlook is bleak.
The capital, Kiv, is currently under attack from cruise missiles almost every night. Ukrainian government officials say most of the attacks are intercepted by air defense systems. If we can continue to protect the situation, we may be able to welcome spring with our infrastructure intact. But the Biden administration says air defense systems will likely be the first to be affected if U.S. funding dries up.
It’s been a rough week for President Zelenskiy. The president’s party loudly praised the symbolic victory of the European Union (EU) accession negotiations, and Zelenskiy said it was proof that “history was made by people who tirelessly fought for freedom.” However, in order to actually join the EU, the war must end. This is also in the form of Ukraine continuing to exist as a nation. As of now, there is no certainty that either will happen.
In fact, President Zelenskiy is now forced to take a firm stance on the emergency relief crisis he has faced twice in four days. In the EU, he decided to veto Hungary’s $55 billion (approximately 7.8 trillion yen) aid to Ukraine. EU authorities have said they expect a unanimous vote in favor of the proposal in early January. However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a right-wing populist who freely welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is facing an arrest warrant for war crimes, has sparked discord in Europe. It was surprising that the unity of the West had endured this long. Depending on the elections held across Europe and the unrest that lies ahead, calls for diplomatic efforts and answers about how to end the war will likely grow louder.
Both President Zelenskiy’s visit to Washington and his poignant appeal ended in failure. Even if the U.S. government is able to resume aid at the beginning of the year, Ukraine has already suffered a blow. The aid needed to keep Europe’s NATO allies from being dragged into the worst ground war since the 1940s has been turned into a pawn in partisan games due to battlefield stalling and the political climate. .
What is at issue in the debate in the U.S. House of Representatives is not war policy against Ukraine, the effectiveness of the Ukrainian government, or the reasons why the counteroffensive failed. It’s much more frivolous than that. It has been made a condition of trade for border policy within the United States, and on top of that, it is making unreasonable demands on Ukraine to predict the future outcome of the war. I am speechless at the failure of US foreign policy. The repercussions will be felt for decades to come. Not since British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain claimed he could negotiate with the Nazis with a piece of paper in hand has so much been at stake.
The difficult military situation for Ukraine began even before the US Congress committed to supporting Ukraine. For those focused on fighting this coming winter, the obstacles that lie ahead weigh heavily on the minds of those focused on fighting this coming winter: the possibility of Ukraine confronting Russia without NATO support.
“Without help, we are doomed,” said a Ukrainian medic I interviewed on the 14th. He spent months treating soldiers and sending them off into battle, and in the summer he lost one of his comrades. The other soldiers manage to maintain their composure and repeat that they have no other choice and will continue to fight. But there is no doubt that without financial support from the United States or the European Union, or if one of them drops out, most of Ukraine will fall under Russian occupation within the next two years.
If that happens, Russia’s military, belligerent, fully charged, and hungry for revenge, will be energized and close to the NATO border. If that happens, it will immediately become a problem for the United States. why. Outside of the NATO agreement of joint defense, on a simple practical level, democracies that enjoy safety and freedom in Europe are the major trading nations of the United States. This is also the foundation of America’s global influence.
President Zelenskiy has to pretend that things aren’t so bad in the face of his supporters in a politically divided and ignorant America. If he admits that Ukraine is in trouble, he furthers his argument that there is no reason to finance losers. If we say that Ukraine has the upper hand, people will ask why we need additional aid. Speaking of the situation as a stalemate, one would certainly say that it is not so bad considering it has been two years since the war began.
Some in the Republican minority argue that since Russia will always win, there is no need to continue aid and put off Ukrainians being killed. People who want to say no to Ukraine don’t need an excuse. But that only postpones more serious questions. When will the Russian government finally say no? Just how much of Ukraine’s territory, and perhaps even its European neighbors, is he planning to force Putin to occupy and destroy? Isn’t this a question you’ve been asked so many times that your ears are getting calluses?
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This article is an analysis by CNN’s Nick Peyton Walsh.
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2023-12-18 08:55:00
