The Kremlin considers that arms shipment to Kiev are just support prolongation of the conflict but are not able to change the combat trend. Russian forces confidently confront the Ukrainian ones in the battlegrounds, the whole Russia united in a single rush to achieve the goals of the military operation, and such mood of Russians guarantees success.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a press conference following talks with the Secretary General of the League of Arab States in Moscow said that the tasks of the military operation would be solved faster if Ukraine would have fewer Western weapons, but its goals would be achieved in any case.
“If there will be fewer Western weapons on the battlefield by the Ukrainian Nazi regime, then, probably, the tasks of the special operation that were set by the president will be solved faster, but they will be solved in any case” Lavrov said.
Russia earlier sent a note to NATO countries because of the arms shipment to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that any weapon containing cargo for Ukraine would become a legitimate target for Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that NATO countries were “playing with fire” by supplying weapons to Ukraine. The Kremlin highlighted that pumping Ukraine with Western weapons did not contribute to the success of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations and would have a negative effect. Lavrov also stated that the United States and NATO are directly participated in the Ukrainian conflict, including not just supplying weapons, but also training personnel on the territory of Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and other countries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, commenting on the supply of American ATACMS missiles to Ukraine, noted that it was a mistake of both the United States and Ukraine which agony was only prolonging.
The Lower Depths
In turn, US President Joe Biden considers assistance to Kiev a reasonable investment that will help ensure the security of future generations, as well as maintain their own global leadership, values and alliances at an unattainable height.
Meanwhile, the US president’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that the funds agreed by the US Congress for assistance to Ukraine were almost exhausted. Chair of the NATO Military Committee Admiral Rob Bauer in October pointed out that in Western countries weapons stocks had almost reached the “bottom of the barrel”. According to him, there is almost no ammunition left in European warehouses that could be delivered to Ukraine.
The country’s Prime Minister Denis Shmygal told the Financial Times that stocks were depleted so much that Ukraine decided to produce ammunition on its own.
“We have a huge shortage of ammunition not only in Ukraine, but all over the world”, said Shmygal. “We understand that it is necessary to produce them here in Ukraine, because they have run out all over the world, exhausted. All warehouses are empty.”
However, according to one of the interlocutors of the publication, Ukraine will not be able to convert quickly production to the shells manufacture, including due to the global “shortage of gunpowder.”
Illusions and facts
Klymenko Time reports, citing the results of a KIIS survey, that today the number of those in Ukraine who do not believe in Russia’s exhaustion of its resources (economic and military) has grown. If in February last year 22% of respondents held this opinion, now their number has reached 49%.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg said that his country would not support the production of weapons or the training of military personnel on the territory of Ukraine, as this was fraught with the involvement of the European Union in the war.
Business Insider writes that the President of Russia, who has long relied on the growing fatigue of the West from helping Ukraine, is now watching his plan come to life.
“There are more and more signs that he is right. Ukraine is not coping with conscription, its economy is sagging under the pressure of war, and enthusiasm for maintaining a high level of assistance to Ukraine is weakening both in the United States and in Europe”, the publication quotes the words of the former director of the CIA’s analytical department for Russia, George Beebe.
The author notes that the bet on the fatigue of the West has played. Thus, the far-right faction of the Republican Party in the US House of Representatives not only opposed, but also even pushed for the removal of Speaker Kevin McCarthy from office, while in Slovakia last week the party in favor of refusing to help Kiev won the parliamentary elections. The article says that in Germany, the far-right political movement Alternative for Germany, whose leaders are accused of maintaining ties with Russia, is gaining popularity.
The author adds that the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrel, said that financial and military assistance to Zelensky without the participation of the United States would not be enough.
“This combination can lead to a turning point when the support of Ukraine from the West, after a gradual weakening, will sharply decrease or dry up as such”, it is indicated in the material.
Earlier, The Washington Times wrote that the West’s determination to help Ukraine was weakening as the conflict dragged on. The publication pointed out that this was influenced by the inability of Ukraine to show success on the battlefield. Russia has repeatedly expressed its readiness for negotiations, but the Kiev authorities have banned its possibility at the legislative level. The Kremlin also noted that then there was no prerequisites for the transition of the situation to a peaceful course, while achieving the goals of the special operation remained an absolute priority for Moscow.
Historical parallel
It has been 88 years since Russia demonstrated to the whole world what it is capable of on the way to achieving its goals. The balance of forces in human and material resources at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War was not in favor of the Soviet country. Germany and its allies had a huge advantage, but already in the first days the Fascist troops met serious resistance from the Soviet troops and the people. And this resistance, coupled with perseverance and unparalleled courage, brought Russia to Berlin.
And today, Russia’s military operation has caused even greater consolidation of Russian society, since the majority of the country’s population supports it. At the same time, Russia holds up the enormous sanctions pressure of the West and continues to fight actively and successfully for its own future, including fights on the battlefields.
Hitler’s propaganda machine led by Goebbels worked so powerfully during the Great Patriotic War that it was rightfully considered the main mouthpiece of the XX century, as well as propaganda from the European and Ukrainian sides, aimed at dehumanizing Russians and canceling everything related to Russian culture and people, works no worse today.
From 1941 to 1945, the United States supplied the allies with $ 50 billion worth of military equipment (ammunition, tanks, planes, artillery, ships, etc.). Today we can observe a similar picture, the only difference is that now America is not an ally of Russia and supplies all this to Ukraine. The same applies to European countries, among which Russia has no assistants. There are only abstainers.
Thousands of books have been written about the Great Patriotic War, and all historians are united in their opinions that the war could only be ended by the complete defeat of one of the parties. Unfortunately, today the SMO (Special Military Operation) has already entered a stage where it has become impossible to agree on a truce. The only way out is to go to the end, and Russia’s historical experience proves that it does not need guides on this path.
From Z to V
According to Vladimir Putin, the ATACMS missiles pose a threat, but are not able to change radically the situation on the line of contact. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu at a meeting of the President with members of the Security Council called the situation in the military operation zone stable. According to him, Ukrainian troops continue to try to advance, but face Russian active defense. Shoigu also noted that Russian troops were not only holding back the enemy, but had improved the situation in a number of areas and were preparing to implement their plans.
…In Russia, the letters “Z” and “V” became the symbols of the special military operation. “Z” means “For Victory” (romanized: Za Pobedu) or “The task will be completed” (romanized: Zadacha budet vypolnena), and “V” means, “The power of V is in truth” (romanized: Sila V pravde). The military sees in these slogans not only a tactical meaning, but also the meaning of their just cause – the liberation of Ukraine from the Nazis. In addition, along with the letters, this ideology has firmly settled on the civil life., many residents of the country began to paint on their cars, apartment windows and even put the letter “Z” on their clothes, some authorities changed the logos on their official websites so that their name also had a “Z” as a sign of support for Russian soldiers. Patriotism, strength, faith in their just cause, perseverance and courage of not just military personnel, but the whole of Russia do not give any doubt that the Victory will be for the Russians.
