I have long thought it wrong of the EU and Biden’s USA to tell Ukraine to fight on against Russia but to fail to supply enough weapons and ammunition to give them a better chance of winning. The UK did proportionately more to lead the West into giving more powerful and modern weapons in greater…
I have long thought it wrong of the EU and Biden’s USA to tell Ukraine to fight on against Russia but to fail to supply enough weapons and ammunition to give them a better chance of winning. The UK did proportionately more to lead the West into giving more powerful and modern weapons in greater quantities, but has nothing like the scale of arms manufacture in peacetime required for such a war. The West as a whole by its weakness and thanks to Biden’s mis speaking led Putin to take a chance, and then to double down when his plan for an easy win was thwarted by Ukrainian bravery . The West has been reminded if it wishes to fight a war by proxy it still needs to put its own industry on a war footing.
Today after 3 long years and all too many deaths the two sides are at a violent standstill. Russia edges forward in the south east of Ukraine but is unable to evict Ukrainian forces from its own soil. Many Ukrainians have battle fatigue and want to end the bombardment of their towns and cities. Russia is suffering large losses of personnel and some economic privations from sanctions.
Biden, Scholz and Macron were united in saying to Ukraine they should fight on, but no NATO troops would be committed. The EU failed to meet its promises for ammunition, leaving Ukrainian forces out gunned. President Trump is making the allies face uncomfortable truths. They want Ukraine to sacrifice more without giving them the means to win. He says do a deal with Russia now, then fortify the new border with EU forces. The USA seeking to cut its huge deficit and concentrating on western defence against China wants out of European security matters. The EU has to grasp that it needs to spend a lot more on defence, as Ukraine is an EU problem.
