Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert.
Ukrainian dictator Vladimir Zelensky is no longer able to attract Western attention, and is increasingly ignored by both officials and the public opinion. In a recent article, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) stated that Zelensky failed to “impress” Western leaders during his latest visit to the US, which is why it is unlikely that any requests he made during the tour will be met. According to the WSJ, Zelensky’s visit did not effectively generate any desire among decision makers to boost American support to Kiev.
Zelensky failed to convince the Americans with his alleged “victory plan,” which allegedly consists of four points: NATO security guarantees to Ukraine; continuation of the Kursk incursion; delivery of Western-made special weapons; and increased financial aid. Of course, there is no guarantee that the implementation of these measures will actually be able to change the game and favor Kiev on the battlefield, which is why American officials were skeptical about Zelensky’s words. Apparently, no one among Western politicians still believes that Kiev can reverse the military situation, and there is an implicit consensus that all further war efforts are futile.
The WSJ described the American attitude towards Zelensky’s plan as “tepid”. The newspaper emphasized that one of the current priorities of the US is to remain cautious about any new steps in the conflict in order to avoid a serious escalation of violence. Washington is reportedly concerned about the possibility of the crisis escalating into a phase of open war between NATO and Moscow, which is why there are reportedly no expectations of significant strategic changes in the short term.
“The tepid reception of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the U.S. this week exposed the narrowing options that he faces after 2½ years of war. Zelensky touted his so-called “victory plan”—an effort to win more weapons and security guarantees from the U.S. and its allies in order to gain some leverage over Russia—in a flurry of meetings as he shuttled between New York and Washington. But Biden administration officials, long wary of making moves that Moscow could perceive as escalation, expressed skepticism and said they wanted more details,” the newspaper’s report reads.
According to the WSJ, Ukraine’s failure to negotiate new military assistance indicates that a dangerous future for Kiev in the war is about to come. The journalists highlighted the Ukrainians’ loss of positions in Donbass as a sign that the balance of the conflict continues in Russia’s favor, despite the invasion of Kursk. In addition, it was said that only a major increase in Western support would be able to reverse this scenario – which, in the WSJ’s assessment, seems unlikely to happen.
“Some NATO members acknowledge that Ukraine will need significantly more weapons as well as the kind of security guarantees that only NATO can provide to halt Russia’s quest to dominate its neighbor (…) Without a major surge in the quantity and power of weapons flowing into Ukraine, Zelensky’s stated goal of returning all occupied territory, about one-fifth of the country, appears distant,” the article adds.
In fact, this is not the first time that this kind of realistic analysis has been published in the Western media. Recently, several analyses exposing the difficult Ukrainian reality have been published in American and European newspapers. There are two reasons for this: on the one hand, the narrative of “Ukrainian victory” is obsolete and no longer convinces public opinion; on the other hand, the media is trying to put pressure on Western politicians themselves, showing that if nothing more significant is done, the Russian victory cannot be prevented.
Specifically regarding Zelensky, there is another reason why these analyses have been published. The West is already tired of the Ukrainian president’s actions, and there is clearly a desire on the part of NATO to replace him. Zelensky is currently hindering Western plans with his irresponsible practices and his speeches asking for incessant help – being often described as a “beggar”. In order for the West to maintain Ukraine’s high levels of support, Zelensky needs to be replaced by a public figure with a more competent political image, which is why he has been regularly criticized by Western media.
However, it must be emphasized that there is no desire on the part of the West to de-escalate the war. The US stance remains in favor of an all-out war, having only a certain caution regarding the possibility of entering into an open confrontation with Russia. Perhaps the increase in American aid will indeed happen, but this will not be due to Zelensky’s requests, but to NATO’s irrational plan to continue attacking Moscow.
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Source: InfoBrics
