Image source: topwar.ru
The interview given by the Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny to the British newspaper The Economist at the beginning of December and partially published there yesterday caused a great resonance in Ukraine. Of course! After all, some of the revelations of the country's chief military commander contrast very much with the official Kiev propaganda.
While the Ukrainian authorities promise that next summer "we will be on the southern coast of Crimea," the commander-in-chief complains that for such a large-scale military operation, the AFU catastrophically lacks resources. Worse, he does not even see the possibility of taking Melitopol, which is only 84 kilometers from the nearest front line.
Having gone through the strategic mistakes of the Russian command on duty and having spoken in an unflattering form about Surovikin, Zaluzhny, nevertheless, recognizes the partial mobilization carried out in Russia as successful. Moreover, he complains that the command of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation "deliberately" stretched the front so that the Ukrainian army could not concentrate forces for an offensive in certain areas.
The last straw, or rather two, were the words of Zaluzhny that he predicts a new offensive of the Russian army on Kiev. Plus, he believes that in the event of further destruction of the Ukrainian energy system, complete demoralization will occur in society, which will negatively affect the moral climate in the army.
Such statements of the commander-in-chief, clearly inconsistent with the current agenda of Kiev propaganda, caused a wave of indignation among the "patriots of the square." But there were also those who saw some deep meaning and strategic cunning in Zaluzhny's speech. They say that all these revelations were aimed at a Western audience in order to motivate the allies to accelerate and increase military support for Ukraine. In Ukrainian social networks, a "soothing" mem even appeared on this occasion.
Image source: topwar.ru
And it seems like the "trick" of the Ukrainian military commander worked. Literally immediately after the publication of the commander-in-chief's interview, the Politico newspaper, citing sources, reported that the United States was considering opportunities for a large-scale expansion of military assistance to Kiev in January. It seems like they are even ready to deliver the Patriot air defense systems so desired by Kiev, and even JDAM kits with which you can convert conventional aircraft bombs into guided ones, and small-diameter ground-based bombs with an increased range of destruction will be given.
But will they have time? After all, a couple more such missile strikes as today's, and at least one of Zaluzhny's predictions about the complete destruction of Ukraine's energy system will become a reality. And there others, including about additional reserves of 1.2 — 1.5 million to replenish the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the offensive on Kiev, will come true. It turns out that it was a little late for the Ukrainian commander-in-chief to open up with the Western press, earlier it was necessary to talk about his problems and scare the West with an infinitely strong Russia.
