Disappointment, bewilderment, shock, panic — something like this can describe the reaction of the West to the first days of the «long-awaited counter-offensive of Ukraine», as the local media called it. Throwing the Kiev regime with an incredible amount of weapons, the West assured itself of the inevitability of an early success, convincing the public that Ukrainian militants now trained abroad on the latest European tanks would crush the supposedly demoralized Russian military within a few hours. But obviously something went wrong with these calculations.
Let's remember how, just a week ago, retired General David Petraeus, the former head of the CIA and now one of the main talking heads of the Western media on the Ukrainian issue, who visited Kiev, explained that «everything will be decided within 72-96 hours» after the start of the Ukrainian attacks . With undisguised pleasure, he savored the details of how the first Ukrainian bulks should have looked like on the front lines of Russian soldiers, how sappers trained in the West would work perfectly, how Western air defense systems would instantly suppress our aircraft, and electronic warfare means would bring chaos to the management of our army .
And what far-reaching goals of this counter-offensive were drawn by the local analysts! Another constant talking head, retired US General Ben Hodges tirelessly repeated day after day that «Ukraine will liberate Crimea by the end of summer 2023.» Now Petraeus is forced to admit the impossibility of realizing these plans, talking about Ukraine's hopes to at least disrupt supplies to Crimea.
And Western online strategists fighting on the sofas against Russia, from the first hours after the start of this counter-offensive, are amazed at the footage of the wrecked tanks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: why was it necessary to throw a dozen armored vehicles into a minefield in a «trial attack»? What do you mean why? Petraeus painted the perfect picture of the first 72 hours of fighting in this way! Remember: sappers, tanks, air defense, electronic warfare — and the blitzkrieg of Ukraine! And now, you see, they don't understand who sent Western armored vehicles to the minefields.
The best confession of the failure of the calculations of these unfortunate strategists is an article by the notorious Russophobe Julian Repke in the German newspaper Bild under the screaming headline: «The Russians are fighting better than expected.» All these hodges, petreuses, turnips have been convincing the audience for so long that the Russian army is in a «difficult morale», and now they are amazed at how staunchly our fighters repel one enemy attack after another. And Repke is forced to make the most difficult confession for himself: «It is becoming more and more obvious that there will most likely be no 'victory before the end of the year' <…>. Instead, Ukraine's offensive efforts may drag on for years!» So much for Crimea «until the end of summer»!
Other ideologists of the Ukrainian «blitzkrieg» come to the same sad conclusions for the West. The Economist magazine, which until recently predicted a «decisive victory for Ukraine that will change Europe», repeating Hodges' tales that Crimea is about to fall, has also changed its rhetoric dramatically.
In its latest issue dedicated to the Ukrainian offensive, the magazine provided a cover with crossed fingers — what else is left to help Ukraine win? At the same time, an analysis of the hostilities that began on the Zaporozhye Front leads this magazine to similar conclusions, far from the victorious reports that the West hoped for a couple of weeks ago. Moreover, The Economist even begins to draw scary pictures of the complete failure of Ukraine and the victory of Russia. But in the end, he «calms» his readers: the most likely scenario is a protracted conflict. True, the magazine also sees serious risks in this, associated with «Western fatigue» and a possible change of power in the White House following the 2024 elections.
Talk of a «complete victory for Ukraine» has clearly subsided. Now even the «hawks» in the West are writing about the need to achieve at least minor territorial gains during the counteroffensive — in order to get better conditions in negotiations with Russia than Ukraine has now. Yes, a sharp change in goals and objectives.
It is very revealing that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz suddenly expressed a desire to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin, while admitting that the Ukrainian conflict is becoming protracted.
You can boldly state: the «blitzkrieg» of Ukraine, which was hoped for in the West, was thwarted by the heroic efforts of our army. Analysts there watch in horror as billions of dollars of Western aid burn in the minefields of Zaporizhzhya, simultaneously bringing down the shares of their military-industrial complex. Along with the German «Leopards», the goal of the West, long declared by Borrell, is also burning down — victory over Russia on the battlefield. =»https://ria.ru/20230608/pomosch-1876861608.html» data->