Armstrong Economics Blog/Ukraine Re-Posted Jul 19, 2023 by Martin Armstrong
The American Neocons have been pushing for weapons and everything they can muster. They tell Ukraine they MUST get back the Donbas even though the people there are ethnically Russian and not Ukrainian. This would be like Mexico invading Texas, claiming it was their former border even though Americans live there. The Neocons want to believe that Russia is weak, so that is all they tell the press. How else to get Americans to support another endless war like they did in Vietnam?
Western weapons have proven not enough to give Kiev a decisive advantage to defeat Russia. Fighting in Ukraine has reached “a bit of a stalemate,” which is the first time a US Defense Intelligence Agency Chief of Staff John Kirchhofer told a conference in Washington. His assessment of Ukraine’s chances of actually winning this counteroffensive is about zero.
“Certainly we are at a bit of a stalemate,” Kirchhofer said, according to Bloomberg. “One of the things that the Russian leadership believes is that they can outlast the support of the West.”
Ukrainian forces have been unable to advance from Kherson to Donetsk since early June. They have failed to make any significant territorial gains against the Russians whatsoever. So much for the Nuland claims that weapons will defeat Russia. The Senate leader of the warmongers, Lindsey Graham, was willing to sacrifice every Ukrainian to defeat Russia.
Here is Graham cheering that it’s the best money the US has ever spent to kill Russians. They claim they are fighting for freedom when in fact Russia is not interested in conquering all of Ukraine. They are defending the Donbas which was supposed to have been granted the right to be free from Ukraine. Zelensky has destroyed his own country all to conquer the Donbas, occupied by Russians for hundreds of years. This has nothing to do with Ukraine’s freedom. It is the freedom of the Donbas — not Kiev.
If it were Americans in the Donbas, the US would also be there to defend them in a civil war had Russia instigated it. This is a sick individual who takes pleasure in killing Russians. This is how Americans are being viewed because we elect such people. He cares nothing about the loss of lives. This offensive cost Ukraine 26,000 men and over 3,000 pieces of military hardware in the first two weeks. Zelensky has publicly blamed the West for failing to provide enough weapons – including long-range missiles and fighter jets – to guarantee the offensive’s success.
UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace reportedly told Ukraine that his country was not “Amazon” for weapons and that members of NATO wanted “to see a bit of gratitude.” The Guardian reported that Wallace said during the NATO summit in Vilnius that “whether we like it or not, people want to see a bit of gratitude” from Ukraine. Zelensky never bothers to say thank you. Wallace made the point that Zelensky is running through all the NATO stockpile of weapons. He is “persuading countries to give up their own stocks” of weapons and ammunition,” and that they also had “to persuade doubting politicians” that supporting Ukraine was “worthwhile” in its war with Russia. Wallace then added: “I told them that last year, when I drove 11 hours to be given a list, that I’m not like Amazon.”
The Neocons keep putting out propaganda that Russia is losing. The truth is that 20% of Ukrainian weapons were destroyed in just the first two weeks. To my shock, New York Times actually told the truth that 20% of Ukrainian weapons were destroyed in just two weeks.
All of my sources are saying the same time. No weapon system will change Kiev’s fortunes. Neither US-supplied HIMARS rocket artillery and cluster bombs, nor British Storm Shadow cruise missiles, have thus far tilted the battlefield situation in Ukraine’s favor, he pointed out. All of this has failed, yet Zelensky continues to push his country toward annihilation, all to profit from Blackrock and JP Morgan.
The Neocons keep claiming using the White House that the pace of Ukraine’s counteroffensive is progressing. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley said last month that Ukrainian forces were “advancing steadily,” but that progress would be slow and “very bloody.” This is simply an outright lie. There is no independent source on either side that confirms that outlook. The other Neocon spokesman of the White House National Security Council, John Kirby, told CNN last month that heavy Ukrainian casualties are “to be expected” but that Zelensky will continue to receive “the support he needs not just from the United States, but from 50 other partners.”
This is clearly propaganda coming from the White House, most likely at the direction of Victoria Nuland and crew refusing to acknowledge that their current war game is failing. The fellow Neocon Secretary of State Antony Blinken has repeatedly rejected the idea of Ukraine entering into peace talks with Russia. This is why India and France are turning their backs on the Biden Administration. They can see that the United States has undergone a coup, and the Neocons are in full control.
Russia maintains that Western arms deliveries will only serve to prolong the conflict without altering its eventual outcome. That appears to be an honest assessment from all my sources on both sides. This is why Zelensky wants F16s to escalate the war dramatically by attacking Crimea and Russia to provide a major confrontation to drag in NATO.
Western-supplied tanks and armored vehicles have all burned. Beginning in early June, Ukrainian forces launched a series of attacks all along the front line from Kherson to Donetsk. Advancing through minefields. That is what cost 26,000 men and more than 3,000 pieces of military hardware in just two weeks. Ukrainian losses were at their highest during the initial two weeks of the offensive. This was Ukraine’s 47th Mechanized Brigade – a NATO-trained unit – which by all reports, apparently lost 30% of its 99 Bradley Infantry Fighting vehicles in two weeks. Ukraian’s 33rd Mechanized Brigade lost nearly a third of its 32 German-made Leopard tanks in a single week. According to Russia, they destroyed a total of 311 Ukrainian tanks in two weeks. They claimed: “At least a third of them, I believe, were Western-made tanks, including Leopards,” was reported on Russia 24 TV.
This is why Ukrainian commanders decided to pause the counteroffensive. They simply lost so much. Zelensky acknowledged that there was a pause but blamed the West for failing to supply him with enough weapons and equipment for a successful operation. He omitted that some say he has lost more than one-third of all the weapons sent to Ukraine. Zelensky claims that the decisive phase of their counteroffensive has yet to begin. This, too, seems to be just propaganda.
Zelensky is running through ammunition like water, particularly 155mm artillery shells. Even Biden was forced to admit that “we’re low” on these shells, explaining that the shortage compelled him to send controversial cluster munitions in their stead, which is a war crime by all standards. What’s next? Tactical nuclear weapons instead of peace?
Centinel2012 