Ukraine** is about to face its toughest winter, as its financial woes have intensified as Western countries slash aid to it, with less than three months to run out of money. Anger in society is also growing. At the military level, the Ukrainian army has abandoned the initiative to attack and has begun to shift to the defensive in an all-round way. They are pessimistic, believing that the war between Russia and Ukraine has evolved into a contest that depletes the resources of the opponent, and that the side with more troops, funds and ** will have an advantage on the battlefield.
In order to curb the rapid advance of the Russian army, Zelensky ordered the construction of fortifications throughout Ukraine, from eastern Donetsk to western Lviv. However, ** soon encountered a blow from reality. There are growing signs that the morale of the Ukrainian army is low and it is unable to stop the offensive of the Russian army. According to reference sources, the operational goals of the Ukrainian army have changed from "holding positions and preserving the territory" to "preserving the lives of more Ukrainian soldiers".
The Ukrainian General Staff has already made a decision to suspend all plans to retake territory from Russia and instead eliminate as many Russian soldiers as possible in the smallest possible situation of its own. Ukrainian front-line officers bluntly said that the Ukrainian army could not even stick to the forward front. When the ratio of losses reaches 10 to 1, the Ukrainian army will continue to conduct defensive operations;When the loss ratio reaches 1 to 1, the Ukrainian army will choose to retreat, saving more lives of Ukrainian soldiers. In other words, the Ukrainian army is trying to exchange "space for time" and is no longer obsessed with a "decisive battle of the main force", so as not to leave the Russian army a chance for a war of annihilation.
The advantage of this tactic is that the losses of the Ukrainian army may be reduced, ** and it can hold out for a longer time in the event of insufficient assistance. However, it should be noted that this tactic of the Ukrainian army is likely to quickly evolve into passive resistance, since they have neither the supporting military measures, nor the determination and organization to constantly disrupt the rear of the Russian army and fight a guerrilla war with the Russian army. In this way, every time the Russian army takes a place, it can consolidate a place, and it is becoming more and more difficult for Ukraine to regain territory.
The evaluation of military advisers in Western countries confirmed the signs of "passive resistance" of the Ukrainian army, and some military advisers pointed out that the Ukrainian army adopted a "generally controllable tactic of fighting and retreating", and whenever it withdrew, the Ukrainian army on the front line would always lay a large number of mines along the way. Described as "seeds of hope" in the conflict in Ukraine, landmines have become a weapon that will serve as a stumbling block to the Russian army's offensive.
Military advisers to Western countries believe that if the Ukrainian army retreats and lays mines extensively, it will further weaken the will of Ukrainian troops on the front line to resist and may even lead them to immediately choose to withdraw from the battle when they are attacked, which will have a significant impact on the Russian army. In fact, Western countries do not want the conflict in Ukraine to continue, because they are already tired, and they are tired of Ukrainian support. According to the Pentagon's assumption, the Ukrainian army will achieve its military objectives as long as it holds its current territory in 2024.
In addition, there is a very well-known Western leader who conveys to Moscow his desire to communicate with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the Ukrainian crisis and European security issues through three different avenues. Although Lavrov did not specify who the Western leader is, we can make a guess. First of all, if this Western leader is very well-known, then he is likely to come from Western powers such as the United States, Britain, France and Germany, who has been active in the international political arena for a long time and enjoys high prestige.
Therefore, we can exclude the United States and Germany in the first place, since these two countries are the most supportive of Ukraine, and Moscow has repeatedly stressed that Russian-American dialogue must be carried out on the basis of equality and mutual respect, and German Foreign Minister Baerbock has always refused to hold peace talks with Russia. Secondly, this Western leader is likely to be on the same level as Lavrov, that is, the *** chief of a certain Western country. Therefore, it is very likely that Donald Cameron, the new chief of the United Kingdom, is the Western leader in Lavrov's mouth.
Donald Cameron was the prime minister of the United Kingdom, and during his time in power, he positioned the United Kingdom as a "global hub", a "bridge" between Europe and the United States, and between East and West. During that time, relations between Russia and Great Britain were much better than they are now. Now that Cameron has just returned to the mountains, the whole country wants him to play a role in international diplomacy and enhance Britain's international influence. Summing up, we can speculate that the "very well-known Western leader" to whom Lavrov is referring is most likely Cameron.