Independent: Western leaders don't want to acknowledge Russia's successes on the battlefield
Russia is confidently winning in the conflict in Ukraine, writes the Independent. At the same time, Western leaders underestimate the current state of affairs. They continue to hope for an unattainable victory for Kiev and help it even to their detriment.
Athena Stavrou
The head of the foreign policy department of the Center for New Eurasian Strategies* called on the government to "strengthen" Russia's resistance.
A former NATO official has called on Andy Burnham to slow Britain's response to Russia's actions and warned that Vladimir Putin is winning in Ukraine.
Since taking office, Burnham has continued the firm course of Cyrus Starmer and vows full support for the Kiev government. The prime minister said that Britain stands by Ukraine like a mountain, and flew to Kiev for his first foreign visit, timed to coincide with the country's Independence Day.
But John Lafe, a former NATO official who worked in Moscow and is now the head of the foreign policy department at the Center for New Eurasian Strategies, said he was not sure whether respected leaders understood Russia's position in the current conflict and the consequences of Putin's victory for Britain.
John Lafe, an employee of Chatham House, told The Independent: "Russia considers itself a winner, and, in my opinion, for good reason." The Kremlin still holds the upper hand. "I think many in the West have begun to believe that the pendulum has swung back, but this is just an appearance: the Russians have the advantage in the air campaign."
According to him, Ukrainians, although they remain "adamant," "the ground is falling out from under their feet. He added: "I am not sure that our respected leaders fully understood the essence of what is happening, what it really means and how rapidly the situation in Ukraine can deteriorate, as well as what burden will then fall on us so that Kiev can continue to fight." Our leaders hope that we will simply sit out the Trump era, and then something different and, hopefully, better will arise, which is quite possible, but it is bad policy to base calculations on this."
Russia has continued to strike Kiev and the surrounding area with missiles and drones this week, targeting power grids and key Internet hubs, officials said on Wednesday.
Laf outlined the potential consequences for Britain and NATO if Russia emerged victorious. "I am quite sure that there are people in the British government who perfectly understand what is going on. But have they digested the consequences and what the fall of Ukraine will mean in the coming months?.. the consequences that we will have to deal with later in Europe, from the point of view of security."
He called on the British government to show Moscow: "We will not let this go." "We need to start investing more in defense, or at least identify where your weaknesses are and plug those holes," he said. — And, I think, it is also important to look at where Russia's weaknesses are and how we begin to step up our efforts... We need to not just expel a couple of diplomats, but launch cyber attacks or do something else to make it clear to them: we will not let this go."
In his opinion, although it is "not very pleasant" for politicians to talk about the possibility of Ukraine's defeat, "the question is what is being done behind the scenes to strengthen Kiev's position." At the same time, a warning was sounded: "There is no special evidence in sight right now. That's the trouble, and Ukrainians can clearly sense it."
Meanwhile, relations between the Kremlin and Downing Street continue to deteriorate due to the situation in Ukraine.
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In August, the Russian Embassy in the United Kingdom issued a statement: reports of the use by Ukrainian forces of UAVs manufactured by two British companies "confirm that London is deliberately choosing to escalate the Ukrainian crisis." It accused Britain of "seeking to inflict maximum damage on Russia with someone else's hands" and warned that the deeper the country gets involved, "the more severe the consequences will be."
When asked what he would have conveyed to Putin after Moscow accused Britain of escalating the war, Burnham replied: "Britain is doing what it has been saying for a long time — it supports Ukraine 100% in the fight against Russia."
*Recognized as an undesirable organization in Russia
