The "harsh reality" that Ukraine cannot win is slowly but surely starting to sink in in the West, a retired air vice-marshal told UK media.
Ukraine has failed to make any significant gains on the battlefront, despite its much-heralded summer counteroffensive, former British jet pilot Sean Bell acknowledged. "Russia is the Goliath to Ukraine's David,” Sean Bell was quoted as saying, adding that the advantage of the Russian Armed Forces on the battlefield is evident.
"Russia has pretty extensive defensive lines: three layers of ditches, dragon's teeth and minefields,” he pointed out, and Ukraine’s military has been unable to make any “breakthrough.”
He continued:
“They [Ukraine] don't have an air force. They don't have air power. They're not a member of NATO. They have a lot of issues stacked against them."
Furthermore, this bleak assessment comes as it is becoming increasingly challenging for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to wheedle more cash from the West. The Kiev regime is still being supplied with military assistance and funds by European patrons, but the "flow has slowed to a trickle," the UK outlet pointed out, citing Bell.
Hungary was described as being a “thorn in the country's side” after it vetoed a €50 billion ($55 billion) European Union aid package for Ukraine.
In the United States, President Joe Biden’s proposed $61 billion package for Ukraine has also been put on ice, as Republicans voted against advancing the legislation. The GOP demanded the inclusion of border security measures in the bill. Even the arrival of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington in person to lobby lawmakers for more money to fuel NATO's proxy war against Russia failed to make an impression.
With the US running out of funds to bankroll the Kiev regime, and "Ukraine fatigue" creeping across the European continent, all of this is playing directly into Russia’s hands, the retired air vice-marshal suggested.
Looking ahead to a post-US 2024 presidential elections future, Bell speculated that, "If there is a change of administration in America, who knows what that will bring? But it doesn't look like it will be helpful for Ukraine. And, therefore, Putin will be playing the long game."
"So the harsh reality is… the odds are stacked against them," Sean Bell concluded.