Observer*** Lithuanian Prime Minister Shimonit said in a recent interview that his previous judgment of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict was too idealistic, and he originally expected Ukraine to use military aid and support to defend Western values and defeat Russia on the battlefield, but this did not happen, and the facts have proved that Ukraine cannot do it, so 2024 will be the most difficult year for Ukraine.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Shimonit.
With the United States' aid to Ukraine falling off a cliff**, NATO's attention to the Ukrainian issue is also declining, although a few countries still expect Ukraine to achieve good results in the new year, but in the case of sufficient military aid, the performance of the Ukrainian army is unsatisfactory, and the current aid is greatly reduced, and it is difficult for the Ukrainian army to make a difference.
Shimonit also warned that because Ukraine's defeat on the battlefield could spread to other neighboring countries, Belarus, which borders Lithuania, is a staunch ally of Russia, and in order to prevent a possible war, Lithuania has stationed troops in the border area with Belarus.
However, Lithuania is only a small country with a population of less than 3 million, and the national defense army is about 150,000 people, the overall military strength is less than one-tenth of that of Belarus, not to mention the support of Russia behind it. Therefore, Shimonite believes that Lithuania is on the verge of danger.
But in the final analysis, if Lithuania had not followed NATO to oppose Russia, and even blocked Russia's land passage to Kaliningrad, it would not have been completely hostile to Russia. Now, the United States and Europe have begun to abandon Russia, and the Russian army has bombed the entire territory of Ukraine one after another in recent days, making the outside world realize that Russia has sufficient ammunition, and it has also completely "woken up" Lithuania.
It is worth noting that on January 1, local time, Russia's ** Putin said that Russia has no intention of letting the war go on endlessly and hopes to end the conflict as soon as possible. He also stressed that we do not intend to make any concessions, and that the peace talks must be based on the conditions of the Russian side.
This means that other issues can be discussed, but the four eastern regions of Ukraine, which have been publicly surrendered to Russia, are the most basic bottom line, and they will not accept the Zelensky regime's demand to recover all the land and restore the 1991 border.
Interestingly, Ukrainian ** Zelensky said in his speech on the same day,He was outraged by the vacillation of allies and the indifference of some of his compatriots, "if the West does not stand with Ukraine, then step aside, Ukraine will not back down".
The Economist article believes that Zelensky is very aware of the challenges at this stage, the United States and Europe's aid cuts have led to the depletion of Ukraine's resources, and people's attitudes towards the Russian-Ukrainian conflict have affected the show that if Ukrainian supporters do not believe that the Ukrainian army can win, then Ukraine will be completely defeated.
2024 is the first year, and the defeat of the Ukrainian army has made the United States, the European Parliament, and many European countries pay more attention to domestic politics than to Ukraine's bad situation.
In this regard, Zelensky also called on the European Union, saying that supporting Ukraine is to avoid them being attacked by Russia, and if Ukraine is defeated, Russia will bring the West closer to war. This is also his core point, comparing Ukraine to the "guardian of Europe", exaggerating Ukraine's "greatness" and "mission", and asking European countries for money.
But this set of lobbying tactics may have been useful last year, but the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has caused the United States to withdraw, and how many countries in Europe will be stupid enough to continue to support Ukraine?
Nowadays, the Russian army is attacking fiercely, with sufficient ammunition, and strategic locations such as Maryinka have been captured one after another, and a broader combat space means that the West where the Ukrainian army has won is even more slim. List of high-quality authors
The meaning of Ukraine's existence is to help Western countries "dismember" Russia through the way of ** people, and since Ukraine has lost its corresponding value, there is no need for this farce to continue. In the absence of external intervention, Putin's decision to end the war this year may really be achieved.