The utter inability of the collective West to force Russia into submission in Ukraine, as well as the rapid change in world opinion towards the West in the context of the latter’s support for Israel’s brutal war against the inhabitants of Gaza, they put things in difficulty and this sent the “liberal-democratic” world into a panic.
The White House has already said it will run out of money to finance Ukraine until 2024 unless the US Congress approves additional funding. This has led the Western war machine – led primarily by the United States – to anticipate possible defeat. “There is no guarantee of success with us, but they will certainly fail without us,” a senior US military official recently told CNN. Without military support, U.S. officials now estimate, Ukraine would fall by the summer of 2024.
Ukrainian forces collapsing
However in Western calculations, the fall of Ukraine does not just mean Russia’s victory; it also implies a possible collapse of NATO and, ultimately, the fall of the Western-dominated global political, economic and security order.
A recent Wall Street Journal article states:
“ More importantly, Russia’s success in Ukraine would increase the threat to NATO’s eastern flank, particularly the Baltic states and Poland. Outside Europe, it would embolden Moscow’s allies, Iran and North Korea, and provide China with a model for a military solution to the Taiwan conflict. In all of these cases, US and NATO troops could find themselves in the midst of a military conflict of the type that Ukraine is waging today without direct NATO involvement.”
Such perspectives pose serious problems. Germany, for example, is considering the possibility of setting aside voluntary service and returning to compulsory conscription. “I believe that a nation that needs to become more resilient in times like these will have a higher level of consciousness if it collaborates with soldiers,” said Jan Christian Kaack, head of the German navy. Added to this is the fact that the German army is too small to defend itself against any threat; hence the renewed emphasis on compulsory conscription.
But Germany is not an exceptional case. In fact, this reflects developments in the rest of Europe. The United Kingdom, otherwise known for having one of the best armed forces in the world, is facing fundamental problems. Sky News reported earlier this year that a senior American general “privately told Defense Secretary Ben Wallace that the British Army is no longer considered a leading fighting force.” It was also reported that “the military would run out of ammunition within days if called into combat” and that “the UK does not have the capacity to defend its skies from the level of missile and drone attacks that Ukraine suffers from”.
Russian forces
Added to this is the fact that Russia’s military position in Ukraine remains strong, making it even more difficult for the West to provide sufficient funding. The Biden administration faces its own challenges related to increased funding to Ukraine. As for Europe, a recent report showed that financing commitments made in August 2023 fell by almost 90% compared to the same period last year.
It is war weariness combined with a strong Russian determination to achieve its goals. For the West, Vladimir Putin remains “stubborn”. As Putin recently reiterated: “There will be peace when we achieve our goals… Now let’s go back to these goals: they have not changed. I would like to remind you how we formulated them: denazification, demilitarization and neutral status for Ukraine.”
This article is originally published on controinformazione.info
