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The US has announced a new package, but can it bear alone the burden of aiding Kiev?
Written by Uriel Araujo, researcher with a focus on international and ethnic conflicts
According to Germany’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy, the six largest European countries gave Kiev no new military pledges last month, this being the first time such a thing has happened since the beginning of the conflict in February. Besides Spain, France, Germany and Italy, not even the UK and Poland have made any new military commitments to Ukraine, which is quite surprising considering they had been such staunch supporters. In any case, European military support had been decreasing since April. It would seem Europe is quietly and silently “abandoning” Kiev.
Overall European aid to Ukraine is in any case but a fraction of the estimated €800 billion pandemic recovery fund thus far conceded in loans and grants, for example. Germany in turn is taking too long to implement tank swamps with its neighbors, so that they send their own Soviet-era tanks to Kiev.
There are many possible reasons for what appears to be a gradual “abandonment”, and the fact that Transparency International’s corruption index ranks Ukraine in the bottom third can certainly play a role. It is true that the huge flow of European weapons to Ukraine certainly had an impact, particularly the Javelin missiles, but it is also true that as much as 70% of the weaponry sent never reached the troops, while large parts of it ended up in the black market. Interpol secretary general Jürgen Stock warned about the dangers posed by such a situation, pertaining to international terrorism and organized crime.
Be it as it may, the Western weapons could never guarantee Ukraine victory, and a Russian victory, even if a partial one, remains the only possible scenario. Slowly but surely, Moscow keeps making progress in its military operations. Its withdrawal from Northern Ukraine does not matter much, as “conquering Ukraine” was never a Russian goal – Moscow’s main point was alway about keeping NATO out of its own geostrategic environment and stopping Kiev’s aggression against the populations of Donetsk and Luhansk as well as the humanitarian disaster that has been going on there since 2014.
The second phase of the Russian “special operation” is all about encircling and neutralizing Kiev’s forces in Southeastern Ukraine, and, to a large degree, this is being done very efficiently. The infamous far-right Azov Regiment, which until recently had such a strong presence in the city of Mariupol, has been largely neutralized, and many of its leaders have been captured. Azov forces were oppressing and persecuting ethnic Greeks in the region, among other atrocities, and even though Russian rhetoric about “de-nazification” goals was much ridiculed by Western analysts, as part of the whitewashing of Azov, today almost no one denies the “neo-Nazi problem” around the Regiment .
The conflict is admittedly taking much longer than initially thought for a number of reasons, one of them being the simple fact that Kiev has from the very beginning militarized residential areas as part of human shield tactics, as exposed by the latest Amnesty International report. Besides Russian concerns pertaining to civilian casualties and human rights, Ukrainians are, from a Russian perspective, a historically united people, as Russian President Vladimir Putin himself has for years stated several times. This partly explains the relatively slow Russian advances.
As the winter approaches Europe, accompanied by the coming recession and an unprecedented wage of Ukrainian refugees, amid inflation and political crises, one could expect the EU to largely “abandon” Kiev, as its elites now fear an “European spring”. In Germany, public intellectuals have already collected thousands of signatures in a petition to end the flow of weapons to Ukraine.
A recent article by New York Times journalist Thomas Friedman has exposed the fact that the White House distrusts Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky. Ukraine is nonetheless preparing for its counter-offensive in the Kherson region. It is true that the US has just announced it is sending a $755 million package of weapons and supplies to its ally, to fuel its immediate artillery fight. It includes, among other things, 40 armored vehicles, and 1,000 Javelin anti-tank missiles, as well as HIMARS rockets and more high-speed anti-radiation missiles (HARMs). The number of HIMARS sent was limited to 16, though, so as to not burn the Pentagon’s own stockpile. A senior Pentagon official has admitted that the Ukrainians lack sufficient troops to drive Russians from their positions. This American package in any case is far from being sufficient.
As aid initiatives are drying up and Zelensky is becoming an inconvenience, not much trusted by Washington, it remains to be seen how long the US, which struggles with its own domestic crisis (and is already facing frictions with China over Taiwan), will have the political will to remain bearing mostly alone the “burden” of supporting Kiev. It also remains to be seen how Kiev will perform without the expected new weapons from Europe it so ardently has been claiming to need.
i have said it before. Russia just needs to keep hanging on to coming winter and things will have decidedly changed in its favor. Europe will implode without Russian Gas and Oil.
Yes, and the icing on the cake will be the Western vehicles failing to start and equipment seizing up in the brutal Russian winter months.
All the Ukrainian men are pimping, selling drugs and NATO weapons and the women are whoring in Poland. We want them gone. Most people now realize that Russia is doing the right thing. Good luck to Russians and we just want to live in peace, and please take the American criminals away from Poland too. Spaceba.
Glad to hear that some polish people finally realized whats going on
Most Europeans with any brains are fed up with NATO warmongering. Fanculo l’Ucraina
Fanculo l’Ucraina for that too.
We do have Nato and EU because the alternatives are much worse and very visible.
I have not been happy with so many incommers at the same time. But its much better to have them with us.
It might change us too.
Sure, might turn you back into a bunch of fascists again. You’re more than half-way there already.
D’accordo
Djarosjelvky bardutsky here we comes hip hip. We are 4 or maybee 5 but one of us dies last week.
Italians feel the same. We are paying for Anglo-Zionist wars while Cuba is helping us with doctors. Poland and Romania are now the frontlines of an illegal war against Russia and they will be destroyed. Anything the crazy violent uneducated and uncivilized Americans touch turns into merda. The Anglos are pure evil. Fanculo l’Ucraina
Fabio, if it comes to destruction of Poland and Romania (and I hope it will never happen) do you really think that Italy with its illegal nuclear airbases will be spared? Expect salvos of Kinzhals and Zircons, some of them carrying tactical nuclear weapons.
You are not paying for anything.
You get billions in helpt as well as billions in cheep loans. Most likely You are some kind of Mafioso employed low lifer.
Impossible to take them away, the Americans have big plans for Poland that is going to fight in the frontline along with the Baltic States and Finland (all of them having the most casualties), when the Americans finally manage to make the War of Europe-vs-Russia happen.
We just has moved the frontline to include the new members. If Russia decided nato should be in JUK only with bows and arrows. They and Yiu dont decide that.
We defend the ones being with us.
USSR collased itself all the way to west Berlin. Why did they take that and even made a wall, so none could escape? The wall eve has been suported by hard propaganda of the worst kind.
None want any of that back. They got Stalin instead of Hitler. None of them were fathers for them but evil big brothers.
Here You also ignore the rest of us along fx the Baltic sea trading and figthing with them and even partly making Ruthenia, where oskva after centuries became leaders.
There wa no St Petersburger or Leningrad
If all Ukrain men do this, who are their military forces.
In Denmark we now has 33.000 working ukras. None of them do drugs. Many are men.
None here see Russians do the right thing. UN has confirmed that.
Have You ever left You garden or balcony.
ganglia gag gag garin wote this from the backside of the marslanders.
Is your anger directed toward Ukrainian female competition? Just kidding. People should never judge entire nations through the acts of trechereous politicians that work against the will of people. Take for example so called beacon of democracy and human rights – Switzerland. They often organize popular referendums where people decide on different matters. Unless it is an important matter like banking, corporate crime, foreign policy, covid, arms sales, money loundering or similar. These are matters where Swiss oligarchy have their final word and plebs are not consulted.
You dont mention Swiss is a divinding. By that the contons has local decisings in small things too.
Thats a minus and not a plus.
No matter what You name it, the Swizz and also the poor ones are doing pretty well with 20.000 dollars molre then USA pr capita.
That fx is more then 3 times more then fx Russia.
Ypou semes not to understand wetsern countries as constructions. We dont have some few in th top deciding almost everything.
The power is made in many ways and by many, which help each other and soetimes also fight each other.
Russia’s Federal Security Service has offered concrete proof Ukraine’s secret services of killing Darya Dugin in a car bomb attack. As Indian media reported, the SBU is affiliated and managed by CIA and MOSSAD and the modus operandi in the assassination of Darya Dugin was identical to the sticky limpet bombs used in the killing of Iranian scientists. Russia must wipe out Ukrainian Zio-Nazi murdering scum now.The Jew rat Zelensky and his family are fair game now. JAI RUS!
Do you always run like a dog after each bitch in heat you see? Even dead ones. Fucking pervert.
Thereis no verification for, who did that there. A mimium could be a sober link. You forget sober as well as link.
What the F… do you expect. We are not sitting ducks less clever then You. We are nice people. If not, there would not be a single Russian foot in Ukrian dead or alive.
Even MSM is reporting a Zionist connection in the assassination of Darya Dugina. The Jews have been planting these sticky bombs under cars in Iran for several attacks. The use of western passports is also standard MOSSAD procedure, mostly Australian, Canadian, Swedish and NZ passports were used in attacks in Iran.
Ian is not comparable to thos at all. Isrral and russia has good connections Those are very visible for many decades in ME/Syria.
So the conclusion is barking madnees of the worst kind. None here believe any of that. We know the good relations and its limitations.
there is not a single reasons for Mossad/jews did that.
New wepaon demonstrated again. ussain want us die laughing. Rússia a month ago also has deleted Human Rights.
In Russia there are no humans. We are.
We just want the hohol Yulias and their Zelensky pimps to go home. Poland and other countries have enough problems. Only Orban has shown wisdom and kept the hohol whores out.
Because he doesn’t want to allow competition to Hungarian whores and brothels. Same as taxi drivers do not let Uber to take over. Althou, the most prostitutes in Hungarian brothels are from Ukraine, since 1990’s. So it is morelike a matter of regulation of service prices than personal dislike of “hohol” prostitutes. Since I’ve met some of the prostitutes personally, I started to keep them in a much higher esteem than any of the politicians who are whores by character lacking the proffesionalism of a prostitute. Prostitutes do not pretend they are something different than what they are. Politicians always do.
Let’s hope for a cold hard winter.
It surely will be in Britain as we are facing the worst depression and rising prices and fuel shortages.
Why are you so depressive when summer is not over yet and winters in England are much more mild than in the north of Germany, Danmark, Poland, Baltic states etc?
RT News reports that EU are getting deeply involved in the crisis where they’ve decided to train thousands of AFU within EU territory much like the way britz and Canada train these ukronazis. Meanwhile Moscow should adjust its military policy where these AFU are legitimate targets regardless of location wherever they might be conducting military activities, meaning that England and Canada who are harboring these cokroaches has no immunity from hypersonic events targeting AFU.
uhm…NATO needs to heat up the atmosphere in winter with their HAARP type instalations, just as they did it this summer to promote drought, famine and climate agenda and carbon credit system. And put their vile technology for a good purpose. Somehow I have serious doubts they will do this. After all, they are not good guys.
RT NEWS 24/7 RUMBLE GOT SABOTAGED BY SANCTIONISTS.
Something else to consider is the political environment in the USA given the upcoming November mid term elections.
This story bis a repeat from 3 weeks ago……………much like most Russian press releases. They may just be fought to a standstill or lack the will to advance.
Oh Karen
Disinfo’s narrative is a repetitive litany of his puppet master’s Talking Points.
Slava Russiya
Actually the allied forces have been making their usual 10km a month advance. Meh, but still 10km, like it or not.
Germany has now said it IS supplying Ukraine but keeping it quiet –for one reason the amount of money its costing and the German public’s anger about what will happen come winter they fear an uprising as do other EU states.
Germany has also reiterated that it WILL close down all the nuclear power stations –absolute madness !!– prediction is many governments will fall when half the population freezes and starves.
At the moment I am being heavily blocked so sorry for having to use the edit facility.
Edit away man, its the best way to get your across.
German politicians are comitting suicide. I dont understand how the owners of say volkwagen for example are ok with this. They will lose their business¡!
The Germans recently announced that they would be supplying 155mm guided artillery rockets and the Americans just announced they would be supplying hundreds of loitering drones.
uh i haven’t seen that because germany, estonia ect ect keep sending weapons to ukraine so to say it’s less and less is wrong, i haven’t seen any drop in shipments of weapons, and europe still hasn’t given up, i’m in france and the amount of propaganda and other bullshit about ukraine is still there
dumbocracies wasting money—to create deindustrialize Stone Age societies—except Serbia Russia Hungary—-maybe you pay taliban to civilize you—nobody needs culturally morally decayed Western Europe or angloshere
It was fun being self righteous trendies following the latest fad. Oh the joy of virtue signaling. But winter is coming and it’s the government that will feel the heat if the homes in Europe are freezing. So onto the next fad. The 8 second attention span has a new shiny bauble to gaze at.
Smart move by these European countries to start abandoning the Ukraine, which is a failed state, basically a basket case. And now after six months of Putin’s wonderful SMO, things are even worse. Great news. This is of course perfect for Putin, the master tactician and military genius. His slow war is working and it now looks like he may be winning without even officially having fought a war. The Nato scumbags and their nasty underlings in Kiev are getting desperate, something we can clearly see in their crazy attacks on various sites in Russia. And the car bomb in Moscow that killed the lovely young woman was major blunder, for not even the MSN can pin this on Putin. Murdering a young woman does never go down well with people, not even with the sheeple of Europe. Yes, the victory is now within Putin’s grasp. He just need to stay calm and not let himself be provoked by the enemy, who we all know already is beaten. All they can do now is to lash out at Russia hoping for a reaction that will bring the war back to the attention of the brainwashed European population. It will of course never work.
Can’t wait to hear them squealing for gas in February!
Because they’re all getting destroyed thanks to the info provided by pro-Russia Ukrainian moles in the intel and military.
no more war trophies, hmm
I shouldn’t say that only Ukraine causes the corruption. I believe that it is used as a money-laundry. Think of the American arms, which are 10x more expensive than the Russian? And the European countries were reclaiming that the NATO spents for Ukraine are not transparent at all. Than add the amount of “lost units” – you will understand that less than 10% of declared money is spent for Ukrainian army.
US authorities do not need to believe, or not believe Zelensky: he is their puppet and will behave the way he was told.
Hey Zelensky and O,Biden, the US mid terms coming for ya….
Europe is a Quietly Abortion of a stupid nazi !!!! BUrreaucrautz fritz kaput !!!!
I wonder what Zelensky’s current approval rating is. It was 28 percent before the war started.
I’d guess Fox, CNN and the NY Slimes won’t be in a rush to find out.
Ah, mention of the Steiner offensive again. Back here is the real world, the firepower from Russia (and to some extent vice versa Ukraine on Russia) makes a big offensive not going to happen. An offensive requires substantially superior forces to power through defensive entrenchments. It would be a gathering of death.
On the Ukrainian side, this war is about making Russia run out of bullets and will. That’s it, full stop. Russia’s doctrine of heavy artillery power, this cannot be countered. It can only be held back as much as possible until they deice it isn’t worth it to continue fighting.
Time is against the US & NATO as Russia persists in Ukraine and the sanctions are not working but even backfiring to the EU.
Putin/Shoigu did not announce a timetable for the SMO, so it’s not “going slowly”. It’s not a video game but real warfare: It takes as long as it takes.
Russia does—-Europe anglos cry like girls—-you cannot win on battleground or on internets…bye bye ukropistan and the lgbt north amerikan wokeistan
Hahahahahha good!!!! Fuck Ukraine LOL
Well, it doesn’t matter if Russians and Ukrainians are “a historically united people”, most Ukrainians don’t believe so anymore, therefore genetic studies that prove so don’t matter – you know, PERCEPTION and self-identification. Short of Russia occupying the whole of Ukraine and start brainwashing them back to reality, their mind won’t be changed anymore. So, that’s not the reason “for the slow advances”, that’s only the reason for not killing the Ukrainian soldiers on the spot but taking them prisoners. (the Ukrainians would do the exact opposite to the Russians, if the positions were reversed!!!)
The reason for the slow advances is because of the very well-built defenses (did you see the trenches in the vids?) and the lack of desire on the part of the Allies to waste their life. (and they’re RIGHT – Russia doesn’t have many young men, the country’s fertility rate is well below the ratio that sustains a population… all the young people leaving Russia in the ’90s robbed it not only of millions of young people but also of millions of future births)
Russia now positive population growth—many young people
my lgbt obese janitor husband divorced me 52 years ago….everybody abandon me except pet rat in cage—but he won’t let me suck his cock
Russians already won. youtube.com/watch?v=3scgW-aghr4
why ukie nazis ban me? Sawyer rammed in anus by antifa retired hillbilly banned from bugger king—-frequently buggered in Macdonalds parking lot
Jews control you