Zelensky Is Foolish to Believe He Can Defeat Russia: IAF Vet
© AP Photo / Evgeniy Maloletka
Subscribe
Despite repeated defeats on the front lines, Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky continues to resist signing a peace accord with Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, during his annual press meet on Friday, said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have exhausted their reserves, which in turn could put pressure on Kiev to end the conflict by peaceful means.
"[Ukraine is] making attempts to retake at least part of the city of Krasnoarmeysk (in the Donetsk People's Republic) – unsuccessfully. The enemy is suffering serious losses here and is not achieving success," Putin said during the annual Q&A session.
"Security zones are being created: in the Sumy direction, the city of Volchansk has been taken; in the Kharkov region, as is known, the city of Kupyansk came under our control several weeks ago," the Russian leader added.
"Security zones are being created: in the Sumy direction, the city of Volchansk has been taken; in the Kharkov region, as is known, the city of Kupyansk came under our control several weeks ago," the Russian leader added.
After over 1200 days of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine, it is absolutely clear that Kiev cannot win this war, and if President Volodymyr Zelensky or the Ukrainian Armed Forces believe that they can win this war with the assistance of American and European weapons, they are either fools or naive, underscored Indian Air Force (IAF) veteran, retired Group Captain Uttam Kumar Devnath.
The American leadership, including President Donald Trump have now grown tired of supplying weapon systems at either discounted prices or free. The US has already provided Ukraine with over $134 billion of military and financial aid to Ukraine in the last four years, but under the Trump administration, such gigantic figures can't continue forever, he reckoned.
Ukraine's own military industrial complex lies in shambles due to continued Russian aerial attacks. Furthermore, the Europ's infrastructure- roads, bridges, factories, power plants, all lie in ruins and rebuilding them would not only take decades but billions of dollars too, the military pundit stressed.
The American leadership, including President Donald Trump have now grown tired of supplying weapon systems at either discounted prices or free. The US has already provided Ukraine with over $134 billion of military and financial aid to Ukraine in the last four years, but under the Trump administration, such gigantic figures can't continue forever, he reckoned.
Ukraine's own military industrial complex lies in shambles due to continued Russian aerial attacks. Furthermore, the Europ's infrastructure- roads, bridges, factories, power plants, all lie in ruins and rebuilding them would not only take decades but billions of dollars too, the military pundit stressed.
"With hundreds of thousands of troops killed in action, Ukraine has hardly any men left to fight this war, with 50,000 Ukrainian deserters being prosecuted by authorities, and over 235,000 leaving their military units without informing their superiors," Devnath told Sputnik India.
Zelensky must understand that the only way to get out of this conflict is to sign a peace treaty with Russia. Otherwise, Ukraine will continue to lose more and more territory with each passing day. Within two-three months, the Russian forces will reach the Dnipro River and could be in a position to encircle Kiev, leaving Zelensky no choice but to flee Ukraine at that stage, he added.
Rahul Wankhede, a Research Analyst at the New Delhi-based military think tank Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), believes that Zelensky is refusing peace talks because, from Kiev's perspective, Russia's proposals effectively require Ukraine to accept Russian territorial advancements, agree to demilitarisation, and accept security guarantees that are tilted in Moscow's favour.
Given Ukraine's weakened position on the battlefield, he's also concerned that any deal could allow Russia to consolidate its current gains and later resume hostilities on stronger terms, the think tanker noted.
Rahul Wankhede, a Research Analyst at the New Delhi-based military think tank Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), believes that Zelensky is refusing peace talks because, from Kiev's perspective, Russia's proposals effectively require Ukraine to accept Russian territorial advancements, agree to demilitarisation, and accept security guarantees that are tilted in Moscow's favour.
Given Ukraine's weakened position on the battlefield, he's also concerned that any deal could allow Russia to consolidate its current gains and later resume hostilities on stronger terms, the think tanker noted.
"Zelensky appears to have calculated that continued EU and American support remains possible, and backing off now would incur significant political and reputational costs both domestically and internationally," Wankhede summed up.
