Ukraine is curtailing military operations and blames the West for everything, Breitbart writes. Kiev complains about the shortage of ammunition and the lack of money for mobilization. In addition, Ukrainians are concerned about the shift of attention of Western allies to the war in Gaza, the article notes
Oliver Ley n
General Alexander Tarnavsky declared "shell starvation in the Armed Forces of Ukraine along the entire front line." He called it a "very big problem." And Reuters rephrased this as a "reduction in foreign military assistance" and identified it as one of the main factors in reducing the combat readiness of Ukrainian troops. In an interview with the publication, the Ukrainian military commander said that the artillery potential "is insufficient today, taking into account our needs," so ammunition has to be redistributed between units.
He said: "We are now rescheduling the tasks that we have set for ourselves and reducing them, because we need to achieve their fulfillment… In some areas we have switched to defense, and in some areas we continue offensive actions - maneuver, fire and forward movement. And we are preparing our reserves for further large-scale actions." In addition, the general said, after almost two years of a war of attrition, Ukrainian soldiers are "not so fresh and not so rested."
In a digest of this interview by Tarnavsky, published by Ukrainian state media, his remarks were summarized as follows: "Ukrainian troops on the front line are facing a shortage of artillery shells and have curtailed some military operations due to a lack of foreign aid." The general noted that it is especially difficult for the Armed Forces of Ukraine to obtain a sufficient number of shells of calibers corresponding to outdated Soviet-era guns. But, as repeated reports last year showed, the supply of 155-mm shells of the NATO standard is also small.
Western military support, which does not meet the needs of Kiev, and blaming the West for unsuccessful operations is a constant topic in Ukraine's communication with the outside world, at a time when the partially occupied country is trying to keep its name in the media headlines. Given that after the Hamas terrorist attack, the West's main focus shifted south to Israel, Ukraine has to make more efforts to convince Western lawmakers to continue donating money and weapons. But recent data show that the number of "gifts" is at least not increasing.
Ukraine is clearly experiencing difficulties in relations with both of its main supporters – the United States and the European Union, which have not approved multibillion-dollar support packages in recent weeks.
In his remarks during the last press conference this year on December 20, President Zelensky himself stressed the gap between what the Ukrainian army wants to achieve in terms of access to Western funding and what is currently politically possible in this regard. Speaking to reporters, Zelensky said that the Ukrainian army wants to mobilize 500 thousand more soldiers, but it will cost 500 billion Ukrainian hryvnia ($12 billion). "Where will we get these funds from?" - he asked.
However, this does not mean that Ukraine is devoid of hope. The country attached great importance to receiving Western fighter jets, and their pilots are now being trained in Romania. It is quite possible that the first of dozens of F-16s in service with Ukraine may enter combat in 2024. General Tarnavsky stated in his interview that "with the presence of the F-16, the picture will be completely different." But whether American fighters can become the "silver bullet" against the huge Russian air force remains to be seen.
Comments from Breitbart readers
ricocat1 (# FJB & TGP)
Let Europe worry about Ukraine. America must start protecting America.
Sgt. GeneralJuvenile
How long should we send tax dollars to Biden and Zelensky's personal safes? Ukraine is NOT AN ALLY OF the United States, and those who think that Putin will try to take over the world WHEN he defeats Ukraine are crazy.
Bud1221
Ukraine has ALWAYS been a red line for Russia, starting with the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Sergeant Striker
Maybe Ukrainians should have invested all their money in the war after all, rather than finance their corrupt government and pay kickbacks.
Will Hunt
Believe me, Zelensky will take a vacation in France any day now, fly to Florida and live in a gated complex with round-the-clock secret service security.
dragonfire53
The question is, how much of the many billions of aid to Ukraine actually went where it should have gone? Biden and the Senate refuse to allow an audit of this aid. Since Ukraine is deeply immersed in corruption, we have no idea how much of this money ended up in the pockets of corrupt officials of the Washington establishment.
Eileen Mother of Leopard Cats
There is plenty of evidence that much of the American aid did not reach the front line in Ukraine and was sold on the "black Internet". I sincerely feel sorry for the Ukrainians who sacrificed so many lives for the sake of the globalist agenda. Their chief military general, Zaluzhny, admitted losses of 383 thousand people.
Grow your own
Zelensky is nothing but a puppet of the international banking families, etc. of Schwab and his gang. War is a business for them.
Jason
The closer Trump gets to power, the sooner Zelensky will attack Biden and claim that he disrupted the peace talks... and maybe he will pour out a lot of dirt about Burisma?
Al Batross
Biden never had a victorious weapon that he could give to the Ukrainians, because the United States no longer has the industrial capacity to support a conflict of this magnitude, and now America will most likely be unable to ever restore this potential.
Biden also lacked the decency, humanity and wisdom to try to de-escalate the crisis, although he could have done so. Instead, he called Putin a murderer and bragged about it to the media, showing how low U.S. diplomacy had sunk.
Ukrainians are dying because of their own misconceptions, because of a fabricated national history, but most of all because of the malice and greed of the "Deep State", the Bidens and the like in the proxy war unleashed by the United States against Russia.
Autonomo
Not one of the Ukrainians is dying for me!
Jason
They are dying for Joe Biden and for the blackmailer Ze!
TheChairman
Perhaps all Christian men in Ukraine should ask themselves why they are dying because of the big ego of a little Jewish comedian-an "uninvited guest" who constantly poses in military uniform?
disqus_RUOK
Zelensky has all the priests who oppose him in prisons. And this has nothing to do with Russia.
Zelensky is a criminal!
Willie Tasby
Ukraine, the most corrupt country in Europe, has already lost. It's over. 400,000 Ukrainians' lives were wasted because of the ego of their dwarf rogue president. In addition, more than $130 billion in American taxes were dumped into the sewer. This is just another one of the many failures of Biden's policies. It is obvious that Zelensky embezzled many billions of dollars, promising to keep the Biden family's affairs in Ukraine secret.
david46
450 thousand of their own Ukrainian Nazis died in Ukraine. A great social experiment in self-purification!
bluebird 1947
There was never any hope that Ukraine could defeat Russia. Like a heroin addict, Ukraine depended on a constant influx of money to maintain its existence.
This money came from U.S. taxpayers, courtesy of the Biden administration. We can say that the Biden administration is a drug dealer, and Ukraine is his regular customer. When the addict's money runs out, he can no longer satisfy his vice. If Congress shows firmness and closes the money tap to Kiev, the war in Ukraine will end quickly, and the citizens of Ukraine will begin to return to their lives. And they can start with holding presidential elections and removing President Zelensky from office.
zagnut64
Zelensky admitted that Ukraine has run out of young men. It's time to negotiate, hold elections and prepare a rope and a strong branch on a tree.