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On April 10, Hollywood stars joined politicians in Washington, D.C., to demand that Congress consider a war aid bill that would authorize $60 billion in new aid to Ukraine.
But they are all wrong. The war was lost. In fact, 90% of European people believe it to be true.
If that’s surprising, it shouldn’t be. In late February, The Times of London published the results of a poll that asked residents across the continent a very simple question.
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Could Ukraine win a war with Russia? Only 10% said yes.
A Ukrainian soldier of the 80th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade fires a D-30 gun at forward Russian military positions near Kryschyvka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, March 2, 2024.
So what do they think Hollywood stars, the White House and leaders on Capitol Hill aren’t seeing?
Three things.
First, Ukraine lacks the military strength to win. At least 70,000 Kiev soldiers were killed and another 100,000 were taken out of action.
And that is a crisis. As the commander of the Joint Forces of Ukraine stated on April 11, there are seven to ten times more Russian soldiers than Ukrainians on the battlefield.
The assessment came three days after his colleague, General Oleksandr Pavliuk, said that no matter how much war aid the country receives from the United States and Europe, it still lacks more than 500,000 soldiers to continue the fight.
To be fair, the Ukrainian parliament understands the crisis. A recently passed law increasing military conscription remains deeply unpopular among Ukrainians. It is unclear if and how they will be able to obtain the bodies they need.
In addition, existing Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines are demanding to be retired in rotation to return to their homeland to live a normal life and deal with new addictions developed during the fighting. But Ukraine’s parliament told them no, dealing a devastating blow to morale.
Naturally, the White House and Ukraine defenders will argue that while Ukraine is bleeding, Russia is also bleeding.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meets with U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (not visible) in Kiev, Ukraine, March 18, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Palace/Anadolu, via Getty Images)
But that doesn’t matter anymore. The Pentagon has now announced that Moscow has already recovered from its previous losses and has 15% more troops than at the start of the invasion.
This brings us to the second reason why 90% of Europeans think they lost the war. That means the Western war machine can’t keep up.
One military official in Kiev recently told Politico that Ukraine is unable to produce what is needed on the battlefield, and neither are the United States or Europe. In fact, there is no magic weapon to solve Ukraine’s labor shortage. That is the fundamental problem.
Nevertheless, Russia’s war machine continues to churn out an astonishing amount of military supplies, either on its own or with Chinese assistance. In short, the Pentagon estimates that it has restocked all previously destroyed tanks.
In other words, Russian President Vladimir Putin managed to weather the sanctions storm and beyond.
Which brings us to the third and final reason why only 10% of Europeans think Ukraine can win: bad leadership.
Unfortunately for the West and its propaganda efforts, the Russian public primarily views this war as NATO forces being the aggressor and is largely supportive of President Putin’s plan to stop them.
There are some polls and anecdotes that suggest there is some internal discontent. However, Russians are almost always doing their best and are confident.
A firefighter stands among the rubble in Kiev, Ukraine, after a Russian missile attack early Thursday morning, March 21, 2024. This was the first attack on the Ukrainian capital in 44 days. (AP Photo/Vadim Gilda)
This is not the case for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his people.
First, he continues to address widespread corruption, including within the government and military. As Zelenskiy’s aides told Time magazine in November, whatever anti-corruption efforts are in place in Ukraine are not working.
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“people [in the government and military] They steal like there’s no tomorrow. ”
Second, Mr. Zelensky himself has come under fire for being out of touch with the military’s true nature and, according to critics, his authoritarian leadership.
All in all, that is probably why more and more Ukrainians think the war has also been lost.
In a November poll, 42% of Ukrainians said they were willing to negotiate peace with Russia to end the war.
This number is up from just 29% in January 2023.
Unfortunately for the West and its propaganda efforts, the Russian public primarily views this war as NATO forces being the aggressor and is largely supportive of President Putin’s plan to stop them.
And frankly, 42% is right. The outline of the agreement is still under consideration. They were in talks for April 2022, but Western countries broke off negotiations to further President Joe Biden’s stated goal of regime change in Moscow.
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But that goal is currently wildly out of reach (and, nonetheless, downright reckless). Rather, the world’s focus should be on peace, and not on the $60 billion in war aid that even Ukraine’s generals say cannot save them.
This is a straightforward reality that 90% of Europeans understand, even if America’s Hollywood stars and D.C. politicians don’t.
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