RTThu, 10 Aug 2023 22:23 UTC
© AFP/Efrem LukatskyPolish President Andrzej Duda • news conference • Kiev, Ukraine • June 28, 2023
Kiev doesn't have enough weapons to "change the balance of the war," President Andrzej Duda has said...
Polish President Andrzej Duda, one of Kiev's most ardent foreign backers, has predicted that Ukraine's counteroffensive against Russian forces will likely fail.
Duda, echoing President Vladimir Zelensky, also insisted that even more Western weapons are the answer.In an interview published on Thursday, Duda asked the
Washington Post, before answering:
"Does Ukraine have enough weapons to change the balance of the war and get the upper hand? Probably, no. We know this by the fact that they're not currently able to carry out a very decisive counteroffensive against the Russian military. To make a long story short, they need more assistance."
Ukraine launched its long-awaited counteroffensive against Russian forces in early June, assaulting multiple points along the frontline from Zaporozhye to Donetsk Regions. However, the
Russian military had spent several months preparing a dense and multi-layered network of minefields, trenches, and fortifications, which the Ukrainian side has thus far failed to overcome.Advancing through minefields without air support, Ukraine's Western-trained and NATO-equipped units have suffered horrendous casualties,
losing 43,000 troops and 4,900 pieces of heavy weaponry in just over two months, according to the most recent figures from the Russian Defense Ministry.
Recent media reports suggest that Kiev's Western backers knew that Ukraine wasn't ready to go on the offensive,
but encouraged the operation nonetheless. Duda was among those cheerleading the counteroffensive, declaring in early June that the operation would lead to "the ousting of Russian military forces from all occupied territories."
Like Duda, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky now blames his forces' lack of success on the West, claiming that Ukraine did not receive enough munitions, weaponry, or training to succeed. Zelensky and his senior officials have repeatedly asked the US and its allies for F-16 fighter jets, long-range missiles, and anti-aircraft weaponry, claiming that this equipment will reverse Ukraine's losing streak on the battlefield.
Moscow has repeatedly urged the West to stop "pumping" weapons into Ukraine, warning that
continued military aid will only prolong the conflict and inflict more destruction upon Ukraine, without changing the final outcome.
Comment: As Ukraine continues to flunk war, is
Duda making an international call to arms?
Polish President Andrzej Duda has accused his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of seeking to conquer Europe and has insisted that Russia must be stopped in Ukraine where it is "cheap" to do so.
In an interview with the Washington Post published on Thursday, the Polish leader was asked to respond to American conservatives who oppose sending additional military and financial aid to Ukraine.
He said:
"It is very simple. Right now, Russian imperialism can be stopped cheaply, because American soldiers are not dying. Unless Russian aggression is halted now, there will be a very high price to be paid."
President Putin is seeking to restore "czarist territory," Duda claimed.
He said:
"The West needs to stop Russia now, before American soldiers have to shed their blood and to lose their lives in Europe to restore peace and liberty to the world."
Duda suggested accepting Ukraine into NATO as the best way to thwart the Kremlin. He admitted that he was disappointed that Kiev did not receive a formal invitation to the US-led bloc during last month's NATO summit in Lithuania. He also said he plans to push the Biden administration to make sure Kiev receives an invitation next year.
Meanwhile, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu stated on Wednesday that Moscow would bolster its forces along its western borders in response to what he called a growing threat from the US and its allies in Europe, which are increasing their own military presence in the region.
The minister pointed to the recent accession of Finland into NATO and the potential joining of Sweden, as well as the increasing militarization of Poland, which he claimed "has become the main instrument of the anti-Russian policies of the US."
Shoigu also alleged that Warsaw is actively seeking to take over parts of Ukraine by forming a so-called Polish-Ukrainian military unit, whose official purpose will be defending Western Ukraine, but will in fact serve to occupy it.
The defense minister also stressed that Russia needs to come up with a timely and adequate response to the increasing size of NATO forces in the immediate vicinity of the borders of the Union State of Russia and Belarus.
A cheap piece in a orchestrated conflict.