This new article from TIME about Zelensky’s struggle to maintain Western support and about Ukraine’s eroding military capacity is one of the most damning, depressing things I’ve read about the war for some time.
https://time.com/6329188/ukraine-volodymyr-zelensky-interview/
Some key points: Zelensky’s own aides say he’s “deluded” about the prospects for victory. His confidence “verges on messianic.” The public is still with him, but perhaps (this is my observation) that’s partly because he’s failed to prepare them for more realistic outcomes.
Meanwhile, some front-line commanders have started refusing direct presidential orders to advance — partly due to equipment shortages (ie, “the West is to blame”), but a personnel shortage has become even more dire. The average Ukrainian soldier is now 43 years old. Good Lord.
Corruption in the govt & military cripples the war effort and scares off Western aid (or gives allies an excuse to disengage, according to an increasingly resentful Zelensky). With these stakes, corruption isn’t declining at all. “People are stealing like there’s no tomorrow.”
To cap it all off, Israel’s invasion of Gaza only diverts Western attention further. The whole story paints a very, very grim picture of Ukraine’s prospects.
Kevin Rothrock /
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2023-10-31 00:28:22
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2023-10-31 00:28:22Event JSON
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