Difference between revisions of "U S and Britain reportedly believe the Ukraine war could last 1020 years become a Russian quagmire"

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<p>At the onset of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, US intelligence assessed that Russia could conquer Kyiv in just three days. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been highly critical of the EU's financial and military aid for Ukraine and has maintained close ties with Russia. A little earlier, we told you about a&nbsp;report in the Financial Times that the EU was proposing to sabotage Hungary's economy if Budapest blocks further aid for Ukraine this week. Peter Szijjarto has arrived in Ukraine for talks with senior officials today. This could see states like Poland and the Baltics decide to aid Ukraine on their own, which "might leave NATO's eastern front vulnerable and cause a crisis within the EU and European NATO".</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>I think that the Ukrainians are highly motivated and therefore are willing to tolerate very high costs. I mean, the Kremlin has a very effective propaganda apparatus and is successful in inculcating some belief among the ordinary Russians that this is a just war, and thereby driving up the willingness of the Russian people to suffer costs. In the end, I think that the Russians are not willing to suffer as many costs as the Ukrainians are. Gideon Rachman How do you assess the incentives of the Ukrainians? I mean, I suppose we hear from them and it’s difficult to dispute it, that they have no incentive to settle because they feel they’re fighting for their freedom and for their statehood. Gideon Rachman I mean, I think, you know, we talk about the first world war, but when you listen to what Putin says, the war that preoccupies him is the second world war.</p><br /><br /><h2>The ripple effects of Russia's war in Ukraine continue to change the world</h2><br /><br /><p>Russia's invasion of Ukraine has focussed the West's military minds. He highlighted numerous threats, but there is one common thread amid all these warnings - Russia. Shoigu added that Russia could achieve its military goals with "consistent implementation of the measures in the action until 2025." However, Mr Orban's political director said this morning that Hungary was open to using the EU budget to allow further aid for Ukraine. A spate of Ukraine-linked attacks on Russia's oil infrastructure have reportedly led Moscow's energy ministry to propose restricting flights over energy facilities. Meanwhile, [https://telegra.ph/Discovering-the-Fox-News-Studio-Location-in-NYC-04-15 https://telegra.ph/Discovering-the-Fox-News-Studio-Location-in-NYC-04-15] 's Russia expert, Nandan Unnikrishnan, said India was unlikely to sign "any major military deal" with Russia because it would cross a red line with the US.</p><br /><br /><ul><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>It's hoped that the flight data recorders will shed light on what happened to the Il-76 plane that crashed on Wednesday, killing all 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war and nine Russians on board.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>Russia has shown that it is committed to a long conflict in Ukraine and that it has the capacity to send hundreds of thousands of men to war.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>It also said that it monitored the launch points of missiles and their delivery logistics, especially through military aircraft, to reduce to threat of attack.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>Ukrainians also make a calculation it’s just worth the cost.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular the war started by Moscow.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /></ul><br /><br /><p>While the bipartisan majority of lawmakers support arming Kyiv, 57 Republicans voted against a $40 billion emergency aid supplemental in May. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., made several concessions to those Ukraine aid skeptics to secure the votes to win his protracted speakership battle. But Smith also said ATACMS producer Lockheed Martin no longer makes the missiles, and the U.S. military still needs them in its stockpiles. Smith indicated he disagrees with the Biden administration’s decision not to send long-range missiles, noting every Ukrainian official assured him they would not use them to attack Russia. “It would have to get pretty bad for the Russians to get there,” he said, adding that there’s no way of knowing how many reserves the government stashed away after years of fat checks from energy sales.</p><br /><br /><h3>Joe Biden vows Russia will ‘never’ prevail in Ukraine</h3><br /><br /><p>Ukrainian military intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov, in comments to Reuters, reiterated on Thursday that - contrary to practice before previous PoW swaps - Kyiv had received no requests from Russia to refrain from attacks in the airspace where the plane was downed. Question marks and suspicions surround the shooting down Wednesday of a Russian military transport plane that was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war and nine Russians. “Ukrainian forces have likely suffered desertions in recent weeks. However, Russian morale highly likely remains especially troubled.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>But there is no smooth drop-off — most of them end relatively quickly. Ukrainian military officials have conceded that hopes and expectations of a great breakthrough in the counteroffensive were not met. They predict intense fighting is likely to continue into the next year but say Kyiv's forces are unlikely to launch any more counteroffensives. Russia, meanwhile, is likely to focus on consolidating the territory it has already seized, particularly in eastern Ukraine. A Russian lawmaker suggested that a Russian military transport plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war that was shot down over the Belgorod region Wednesday was part of a two-plane convoy en route to a prisoner swap with Ukraine. The Ukrainian leadership knew very well that, according to established practice, today Ukrainian military personnel would be transported by military transport aircraft to the Belgorod airfield for exchange.</p><br /><br /><h3>Russian Ministry of Defense statement on plane crash</h3><br /><br /><p>When he ordered the invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin’s original plan envisioned Russian forces capturing Kyiv within as little as three days. "I'm afraid we need to steel ourselves for a long war," he wrote. "Time is the vital factor. Everything will depend on whether Ukraine can strengthen its ability to defend its soil faster than Russia can renew its capacity to attack." And in a stark warning, the newly appointed head of the British Army said the UK and allies needed to be capable of winning a ground war with Russia.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>Russian forces are already trying to slow down tanks in Ukraine with mines, trenches, and pyramidical, concrete “dragon’s teeth,” a type of fortification not seen in combat since World War II. Ukrainian forces, once equipped and trained for combined arms warfare and tank tactics, will be “designed to punch a hole through a defensive network,” Donahoe predicted. “I would love to think the kinetic phase could end in 2023, but I suspect we could be looking at another three years with this scale of fighting,” Roberts said. Russia was not present at the discussions, however, and&nbsp;U.S. national security spokesperson John Kirby stated ahead of the talks that the White House did not expect any "tangible deliverables." It's become clear that the counteroffensive won't produce quick results and that success — however that might be measured in terms of retaking Russian-occupied territory — is not guaranteed. Ukraine will do all it can to keep pressure on the Russians there to make it untenable for the Russian navy in Sevastopol, the handful of air force bases there and their logistics base at Dzankoy.</p><br /><br /><ul><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>We’re gonna win, we’re going to win.” And finally, reality and truth hit him smack in the face that they couldn’t win and they wouldn’t win.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>So that’s the only strategy that I can see Putin really using nuclear weapons.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv will fully investigate the circumstances around the shooting down of a Russian military transport plane allegedly carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on Wednesday.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>Some analysts say Kyiv would lack leverage if it entered peace negotiations now, with the result likely being “peace” as dictated exclusively by Moscow.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /></ul><br /><br /><p>"Ukraine may shift tactics to deal with a downturn in Western aid, but I don't believe they will surrender." "However, that does not mean that there are likely to be serious peace talks and a possible end to the war in 2024. Russia blamed Ukraine for what it called the "barbaric" shooting down of the Russian military transport plane over the border Belgorod region, killing all 65 Ukrainian POWs on board and nine Russians. "The goal is obvious — they want to reduce international support for our state. It doesn't work! Ukraine has the right to protect and destroy the means of an aggressor's air attack," he said in comments translated by NBC News. Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov responded to Zelenskyy's comments Thursday, saying "if he means an international investigation into the criminal actions of the Kiev regime, it is definitely needed," news agency Interfax reported. Russia’s battlefield losses are so huge that western officials doubt it has the capacity to mount an offensive on the same scale again.</p><br /><br /><ul><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>He was one of a group of prominent bloggers who have built up large online audiences as cheerleaders for Russia's war in Ukraine, while sometimes criticising its tactics.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>President Macron of France has spoken to President Putin on the phone.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>Ukraine expert Terrell Jermaine Starr recently told me, "every step that Ukrainians took towards Europe came as a direct result of Russian aggression."</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>Separately, Ukraine's armed forces said in a statement that they would continue to "control the airspace to destroy the terrorist threat" of strikes crossing the border from Belgorod into Ukraine's Kherson region.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>Ukraine confirmed an exchange of prisoners was scheduled for Wednesday but one did not take place.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /></ul><br /><br /><p>Ukraine's army said Wednesday that it would continue to "control the airspace" to reduce the threat of missiles, "including in the Belgorod-Kharkiv direction," after a Russian military transport plane&nbsp;crashed in the Russian border region of Belgorod. Under this scenario, Russia escalates its military operations. There are more indiscriminate artillery and rocket strikes across Ukraine.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street,New York,NY 10036. "There may be an effort to create it but the Ukrainians are not going to go gently into the good night. They are going to fight like hell." From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. The second thing to keep in mind here is that you must believe that any deal you make will stick, so there won’t be drastic changes in the future which will give one side an advantage and they will renege on the deal. The thing that is striking is that there is a cap on Ukrainian aims.</p>
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<p>The Russians are trying to teach the Ukrainians that the war is gonna be very costly by taking out their infrastructure and just punishing of civilians. And on the other hand is the west, which is telling the Russians this war is gonna be too costly because we have sanctions on you and your complete economy will implode. But back to the Ukrainians, there’s many other kind of examples where states have tried to punish the civilians in the hope to break their will. And in almost all cases, it’s had the opposite effect.</p><br /><br /><ul><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>"There is not going to be a Vichy Ukraine," former U.S.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>European countries have largely outsourced much of their military capacity and thinking on strategy and security to the States through NATO.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>However, Mr Orban's political director said this morning that Hungary was open to using the EU budget to allow further aid for Ukraine.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>Mr Zelenskyy has called for public officials to disclose their incomes to increase transparency and eliminate corruption as Ukraine tries to meet the stringent requirements for its bid to join the European Union.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /></ul><br /><br /><p>We have no idea what the consequences of this will be long term or even in the near short term.” The biggest unknown is not when this war will end—because it won’t anytime soon—but where. In some ways, Ukraine was already in the midst of a long-running crisis. The country has been engaged in armed conflict with Russia since Moscow’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, which even before Russia’s invasion last month had resulted in the deaths of more than 14,000 people, many of them civilians. That the war has now escalated beyond the two countries’ de facto border has raised the stakes of the conflict, threatening both Ukraine’s sovereignty and that of its neighbors, many of which are now justifiably asking whether they could be next.</p><br /><br /><h2>Europe bans Russian oil products, the latest strike on the Kremlin war chest</h2><br /><br /><p>In addition, the Ukrainian government anticipates that it will continue to receive Western military support – and ideally, at even greater volume than now. “Ukraine cannot afford to stop now because it would lose one-fifth of its territory to Russia, including vital Black Sea trading ports, the industrial and mining area of the Donbas, and important tracts of agricultural land. This would make a future Ukrainian state less functional and prosperous,” said Shea, who is also a former deputy assistant secretary-general for emerging security challenges at NATO.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>But that gap in coverage is likely to become even more striking the longer the conflict continues, because the factors that make a long war in Ukraine seemingly inevitable are the same ones that make it unlikely to slip from the world’s collective radar. The problems could extend beyond Ukraine, he said, arguing that Europe could face another wave of immigrants from African and Middle Eastern countries previously reliant on grain exports from Ukraine if the war continued to disrupt maritime exports. The statements suggest the west believes Ukraine cannot achieve a rapid military breakthrough despite the anticipated arrival of fresh Nato-standard arms, while officials in the country have continued to call for rapid help. It came as the new head of the British army said British troops must prepare “to fight in Europe once again”.</p><br /><br /><h3>War in Ukraine</h3><br /><br /><p>I just told you a story about the nuclear demonstration of just testing a bomb and then scaring the west, Trump getting elected. I just read another article in the New York Times about these people who are saying like, “Oh, Ukraine should negotiate and should make some kind of peace deal,” but these people are idiots. Do they think that Putin, after he has been successful and shown that he’s been a great leader, and he won against the mighty Nato alliance and all this force, that he’s gonna stop? How can you possibly believe that is true, particularly if he demonstrates that he can stand up to Nato and the west? How can you think this guy won’t come back and ask for more?</p><br /><br /><ul><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>Numbers are hard to come by, but Russia had an estimated 1,500 fighter jets before the war began and still has the vast majority of them, probably 1,400 or more.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>One reason that countries such as Germany have been reluctant to send heavier weapons to the Ukrainians is that Berlin does not want to give Putin any pretext for escalation.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>Under this scenario, Russia escalates its military operations.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>Russian troops took control of Kherson, a city of 280,000 people.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /></ul><br /><br /><p>But they note it's crucial for Ukraine to be able to show at least some gains in order to maintain Western support for the war into 2024 — and perhaps beyond. [https://houmann-monroe-2.federatedjournals.com/discovering-the-fox-news-studio-location-in-nyc https://houmann-monroe-2.federatedjournals.com/discovering-the-fox-news-studio-location-in-nyc] lacks a decisive, breakthrough capability to overrun Ukraine and will do what it can to hold on to what it currently occupies, using the time to strengthen its defences while it hopes for the West to lose the will to continue supporting Ukraine. Industrial-age warfare bends significant parts, or in some cases whole economies, towards the production of war materials as matters of priority. Russia's defence budget has tripled since 2021 and will consume 30% of government spending next year.</p><br /><br /><h2>After the Ukraine war, what comes next? NATO allies don't agree</h2><br /><br /><p>When Ukraine retook Robotyne in August it was hoped that its forces would be able to cut the land corridor to Crimea, making Moscow's supply lines more complicated. However, Mr Orban's political director said this morning that Hungary was open to using the EU budget to allow further aid for Ukraine. Mr Zelenskyy has called for public officials to disclose their incomes to increase transparency and eliminate corruption as Ukraine tries to meet the stringent requirements for its bid to join the European Union. Russia is India's largest arms supplier, but the war in Ukraine has limited Moscow's ability to provide munitions. "A frank and constructive dialogue is expected to improve relations between states," the Ukrainian president's office said on its official channel on the Telegram messaging app alongside a photo of Mr Szijjarto, Mr Kuleba and Mr Yermak. Peter Szijjarto has arrived in Ukraine for talks with senior officials today.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>I think there is a chance that Ukrainians will push forward during the spring if they have integrated the tanks, but they may have to wait until they get the planes. If they get the plane to do the combined arms warfare at which Nato excels and which the Russians simply can’t do and which is a massive force multiplier. It may take a little bit longer, but it takes two sides to end the war. And the question is why would Russia, why would Putin ever agree? I mean, in my opinion, if he gives up Crimea, it will cost him his personal safety, you know, maybe his life, and he may be thrown in jail. Gideon Rachman That was Hein Goemans explaining why he’s interested in war and why he’s gloomy about the prospect that the conflict in Ukraine will end anytime soon.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>This could see states like Poland and the Baltics decide to aid Ukraine on their own, which "might leave NATO's eastern front vulnerable and cause a crisis within the EU and European NATO". "The nightmare scenario would be that the states close to Russia double down on aid to Ukraine while those farther west decide to force a deal on Putin's terms. Then Europe itself could fracture," he says. Phillips P OBrien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St Andrews, wrote in an analysis piece&nbsp;that the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House could see the US "neuter" the Western military alliance. A prominent war expert says the US is on the verge of lessening its support for, or even withdrawing from, NATO - with potentially catastrophic consequences for Europe.</p><br /><br /><ul><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been highly critical of the EU's financial and military aid for Ukraine and has maintained close ties with Russia.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>I mean, I suppose we hear from them and it’s difficult to dispute it, that they have no incentive to settle because they feel they’re fighting for their freedom and for their statehood.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>The longer the Russian invasion continues, the greater the refugee crisis that Europe is likely to face, and the riskier the situation becomes for NATO, which has gone to great lengths to avoid being drawn into direct conflict with Russian troops.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>So for a war to end, the minimum war aims of at least one side must change.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>When President Bill Clinton signed that law in 1996, several countries accused the U.S. of violating their sovereignty, passing their own laws to make the U.S. regulation effectively unenforceable.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>Hein Goemans I’m relatively optimistic about it, but I mean, if Trump wins in 2024, things will change.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /></ul><br /><br /><p>So here’s an example of why a war should end quickly, but sometimes doesn’t. The Western military alliance chief said that supplying Ukraine with more modern weapons would increase its chances of being able to liberate the country's eastern Donbas region, much of which is currently under Russian control. Russia already controls most of Sievierodonetsk, Haidai said on Sunday morning, and if Ukrainian forces lose the city, fighting is expected to focus on neighbouring Lysychansk, from which 32 residents have been evacuated over the weekend despite heavy shelling. He uses Russia's internal security forces to suppress that opposition. But this turns sour and enough members of Russia's military, political and economic elite turn against him. The West makes clear that if Putin goes and is replaced by a more moderate leader, then Russia will see the lifting of some sanctions and a restoration of normal diplomatic relations.</p><br /><br /><ul><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>I've also met displaced Ukrainians who have re-started their businesses in European countries, mostly Poland.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>The undersecretary of state for political affairs, Victoria Nuland, told the Senate in January the Biden administration still expects the $45 billion Ukraine aid package Congress passed in December to last through the end of this fiscal year.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>The other, perhaps greater, risk is that Russian aggression could spread even farther afield, to the Baltics, which would not only draw NATO into a potential conflict, but also fundamentally threaten the post–Cold War order.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>The statements suggest the west believes Ukraine cannot achieve a rapid military breakthrough despite the anticipated arrival of fresh Nato-standard arms, while officials in the country have continued to call for rapid help.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>“It would have to get pretty bad for the Russians to get there,” he said, adding that there’s no way of knowing how many reserves the government stashed away after years of fat checks from energy sales.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /></ul><br /><br /><p>Russia's invasion began with dozens of missile strikes on cities all over Ukraine before dawn on 24 February 2022. The Ukrainian General Staff says settlements in the area - including Klishchiivka and Andriivka - are continuing to come under artillery and mortar fire. It notes the building gives Ukraine a "localised defensive advantage" and says Russian forces will probably suffer significant losses if they attempt to assault the facility. Perhaps most significant is the activity around Avdiivka, a strategically important town on the front line in eastern Ukraine.</p><br /><br /><p>It’s gonna take a lot of dying and a lot of death and destruction before both sides say, okay, we kind of, we can anticipate what the war is gonna end like and like, and we’re going to accept that and we’re gonna make a deal on that basis. Before we get to the show, I’d like to tell you about a survey we’re conducting to find out more from our listeners about what you think of the show and what you’d like to hear more of. You can find the survey at ft.com/rachmansurvey and we’ll put the link in our show notes. If you complete the survey, you’ll have a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort earbuds. "We declared a special military operation because we had absolutely no other way of explaining to the West that dragging Ukraine into Nato was a criminal act," Mr Lavrov told the BBC. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also warned of a longer-term conflict.</p>

Revision as of 03:18, 17 April 2024

The Russians are trying to teach the Ukrainians that the war is gonna be very costly by taking out their infrastructure and just punishing of civilians. And on the other hand is the west, which is telling the Russians this war is gonna be too costly because we have sanctions on you and your complete economy will implode. But back to the Ukrainians, there’s many other kind of examples where states have tried to punish the civilians in the hope to break their will. And in almost all cases, it’s had the opposite effect.











  • "There is not going to be a Vichy Ukraine," former U.S.








  • European countries have largely outsourced much of their military capacity and thinking on strategy and security to the States through NATO.








  • However, Mr Orban's political director said this morning that Hungary was open to using the EU budget to allow further aid for Ukraine.








  • Mr Zelenskyy has called for public officials to disclose their incomes to increase transparency and eliminate corruption as Ukraine tries to meet the stringent requirements for its bid to join the European Union.










We have no idea what the consequences of this will be long term or even in the near short term.” The biggest unknown is not when this war will end—because it won’t anytime soon—but where. In some ways, Ukraine was already in the midst of a long-running crisis. The country has been engaged in armed conflict with Russia since Moscow’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, which even before Russia’s invasion last month had resulted in the deaths of more than 14,000 people, many of them civilians. That the war has now escalated beyond the two countries’ de facto border has raised the stakes of the conflict, threatening both Ukraine’s sovereignty and that of its neighbors, many of which are now justifiably asking whether they could be next.



Europe bans Russian oil products, the latest strike on the Kremlin war chest



In addition, the Ukrainian government anticipates that it will continue to receive Western military support – and ideally, at even greater volume than now. “Ukraine cannot afford to stop now because it would lose one-fifth of its territory to Russia, including vital Black Sea trading ports, the industrial and mining area of the Donbas, and important tracts of agricultural land. This would make a future Ukrainian state less functional and prosperous,” said Shea, who is also a former deputy assistant secretary-general for emerging security challenges at NATO.







But that gap in coverage is likely to become even more striking the longer the conflict continues, because the factors that make a long war in Ukraine seemingly inevitable are the same ones that make it unlikely to slip from the world’s collective radar. The problems could extend beyond Ukraine, he said, arguing that Europe could face another wave of immigrants from African and Middle Eastern countries previously reliant on grain exports from Ukraine if the war continued to disrupt maritime exports. The statements suggest the west believes Ukraine cannot achieve a rapid military breakthrough despite the anticipated arrival of fresh Nato-standard arms, while officials in the country have continued to call for rapid help. It came as the new head of the British army said British troops must prepare “to fight in Europe once again”.



War in Ukraine



I just told you a story about the nuclear demonstration of just testing a bomb and then scaring the west, Trump getting elected. I just read another article in the New York Times about these people who are saying like, “Oh, Ukraine should negotiate and should make some kind of peace deal,” but these people are idiots. Do they think that Putin, after he has been successful and shown that he’s been a great leader, and he won against the mighty Nato alliance and all this force, that he’s gonna stop? How can you possibly believe that is true, particularly if he demonstrates that he can stand up to Nato and the west? How can you think this guy won’t come back and ask for more?











  • Numbers are hard to come by, but Russia had an estimated 1,500 fighter jets before the war began and still has the vast majority of them, probably 1,400 or more.








  • One reason that countries such as Germany have been reluctant to send heavier weapons to the Ukrainians is that Berlin does not want to give Putin any pretext for escalation.








  • Under this scenario, Russia escalates its military operations.








  • Russian troops took control of Kherson, a city of 280,000 people.










But they note it's crucial for Ukraine to be able to show at least some gains in order to maintain Western support for the war into 2024 — and perhaps beyond. https://houmann-monroe-2.federatedjournals.com/discovering-the-fox-news-studio-location-in-nyc lacks a decisive, breakthrough capability to overrun Ukraine and will do what it can to hold on to what it currently occupies, using the time to strengthen its defences while it hopes for the West to lose the will to continue supporting Ukraine. Industrial-age warfare bends significant parts, or in some cases whole economies, towards the production of war materials as matters of priority. Russia's defence budget has tripled since 2021 and will consume 30% of government spending next year.



After the Ukraine war, what comes next? NATO allies don't agree



When Ukraine retook Robotyne in August it was hoped that its forces would be able to cut the land corridor to Crimea, making Moscow's supply lines more complicated. However, Mr Orban's political director said this morning that Hungary was open to using the EU budget to allow further aid for Ukraine. Mr Zelenskyy has called for public officials to disclose their incomes to increase transparency and eliminate corruption as Ukraine tries to meet the stringent requirements for its bid to join the European Union. Russia is India's largest arms supplier, but the war in Ukraine has limited Moscow's ability to provide munitions. "A frank and constructive dialogue is expected to improve relations between states," the Ukrainian president's office said on its official channel on the Telegram messaging app alongside a photo of Mr Szijjarto, Mr Kuleba and Mr Yermak. Peter Szijjarto has arrived in Ukraine for talks with senior officials today.





I think there is a chance that Ukrainians will push forward during the spring if they have integrated the tanks, but they may have to wait until they get the planes. If they get the plane to do the combined arms warfare at which Nato excels and which the Russians simply can’t do and which is a massive force multiplier. It may take a little bit longer, but it takes two sides to end the war. And the question is why would Russia, why would Putin ever agree? I mean, in my opinion, if he gives up Crimea, it will cost him his personal safety, you know, maybe his life, and he may be thrown in jail. Gideon Rachman That was Hein Goemans explaining why he’s interested in war and why he’s gloomy about the prospect that the conflict in Ukraine will end anytime soon.







This could see states like Poland and the Baltics decide to aid Ukraine on their own, which "might leave NATO's eastern front vulnerable and cause a crisis within the EU and European NATO". "The nightmare scenario would be that the states close to Russia double down on aid to Ukraine while those farther west decide to force a deal on Putin's terms. Then Europe itself could fracture," he says. Phillips P OBrien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St Andrews, wrote in an analysis piece that the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House could see the US "neuter" the Western military alliance. A prominent war expert says the US is on the verge of lessening its support for, or even withdrawing from, NATO - with potentially catastrophic consequences for Europe.











  • Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been highly critical of the EU's financial and military aid for Ukraine and has maintained close ties with Russia.








  • I mean, I suppose we hear from them and it’s difficult to dispute it, that they have no incentive to settle because they feel they’re fighting for their freedom and for their statehood.








  • The longer the Russian invasion continues, the greater the refugee crisis that Europe is likely to face, and the riskier the situation becomes for NATO, which has gone to great lengths to avoid being drawn into direct conflict with Russian troops.








  • So for a war to end, the minimum war aims of at least one side must change.








  • When President Bill Clinton signed that law in 1996, several countries accused the U.S. of violating their sovereignty, passing their own laws to make the U.S. regulation effectively unenforceable.








  • Hein Goemans I’m relatively optimistic about it, but I mean, if Trump wins in 2024, things will change.










So here’s an example of why a war should end quickly, but sometimes doesn’t. The Western military alliance chief said that supplying Ukraine with more modern weapons would increase its chances of being able to liberate the country's eastern Donbas region, much of which is currently under Russian control. Russia already controls most of Sievierodonetsk, Haidai said on Sunday morning, and if Ukrainian forces lose the city, fighting is expected to focus on neighbouring Lysychansk, from which 32 residents have been evacuated over the weekend despite heavy shelling. He uses Russia's internal security forces to suppress that opposition. But this turns sour and enough members of Russia's military, political and economic elite turn against him. The West makes clear that if Putin goes and is replaced by a more moderate leader, then Russia will see the lifting of some sanctions and a restoration of normal diplomatic relations.











  • I've also met displaced Ukrainians who have re-started their businesses in European countries, mostly Poland.








  • The undersecretary of state for political affairs, Victoria Nuland, told the Senate in January the Biden administration still expects the $45 billion Ukraine aid package Congress passed in December to last through the end of this fiscal year.








  • The other, perhaps greater, risk is that Russian aggression could spread even farther afield, to the Baltics, which would not only draw NATO into a potential conflict, but also fundamentally threaten the post–Cold War order.








  • The statements suggest the west believes Ukraine cannot achieve a rapid military breakthrough despite the anticipated arrival of fresh Nato-standard arms, while officials in the country have continued to call for rapid help.








  • “It would have to get pretty bad for the Russians to get there,” he said, adding that there’s no way of knowing how many reserves the government stashed away after years of fat checks from energy sales.










Russia's invasion began with dozens of missile strikes on cities all over Ukraine before dawn on 24 February 2022. The Ukrainian General Staff says settlements in the area - including Klishchiivka and Andriivka - are continuing to come under artillery and mortar fire. It notes the building gives Ukraine a "localised defensive advantage" and says Russian forces will probably suffer significant losses if they attempt to assault the facility. Perhaps most significant is the activity around Avdiivka, a strategically important town on the front line in eastern Ukraine.



It’s gonna take a lot of dying and a lot of death and destruction before both sides say, okay, we kind of, we can anticipate what the war is gonna end like and like, and we’re going to accept that and we’re gonna make a deal on that basis. Before we get to the show, I’d like to tell you about a survey we’re conducting to find out more from our listeners about what you think of the show and what you’d like to hear more of. You can find the survey at ft.com/rachmansurvey and we’ll put the link in our show notes. If you complete the survey, you’ll have a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort earbuds. "We declared a special military operation because we had absolutely no other way of explaining to the West that dragging Ukraine into Nato was a criminal act," Mr Lavrov told the BBC. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also warned of a longer-term conflict.