One must wonder what President Zelensky must be thinking when he hears western representatives tell him how much the West supports his efforts. And Zelesnky's reply is always the same, "Yes, thank you, but we need more supplies: arms, planes, firepower..."
The West is desperately trying to keep up with the supply logistic, which have become increasingly slower and subject to supply-line logistics towards the eastern front.
In reality, though, Zelensky probably would have liked to say, "But we also needed it yesterday, all of our yesterdays. Why not sooner?"
He's right: The West should not wait any longer to finally supply Ukraine with the weapons to finally WIN this war, That's the next phase that's coming, the final phase! The West needs to do it now.
You already see the lag of deploying long-range artillery to the east, at least three weeks behind.
Throughout this war, the West has spent more time discussing what they will or will not offer; displaying a complete disregard for the actual needs of the Ukrainian forces. The one clear message was, "No NATO troops on the ground! Open invitation for Putin."
Luckily for democracy Ukraine did not wait for formal discussions, they went straight into the fight and beat back the Russians in the Battle of Kyiv.
But now the war has taken on a newer front, one that we all knew was coming, but one that the West was once again not preparing for.
Since 2014 the Ukrainian defenses in the east had been fortified along Donbas to hold back any Russian onslaught. They are being tested now, while being desperately undermanned and under-supplied.
Russians have the might to raze every Ukrainian defensive position in Donbas if they would choose to, depending on their bomb supplies. However, the outcome and the near final demarcation line for Russia's claim for victory will still be determined after May 9, and it will be determined by the Ukrainian heroes' defense.
They are being tested now, though under-powered. Too little too late. A recurring theme throughout the war, unfortunately. But, as in Mariupol... Freedom or Death will rule the day.
Regrettably, even now, Biden and the West are still lagging behind. The one weapon that Ukraine could have used from early on and even more so right now is: accurate long-range cruise and ballistic missiles. This is the only way that Ukraine can actually WIN this war.
The sooner the West realizes that fact the sooner this war can end. Otherwise Russia will drag this war into 2023 with constant missile strikes and bombings, razing cities and towns. That's the Russian future for the rest of Ukraine.
Russia will claim their victory on May 9th with the least of their goals: a land bridge to Crimea and Donbas. Capturing Odesa and beyond will depend on their struggles in Donbas. But it's perhaps a bridge too far, for now.
Nevertheless. Russia will claim total victory while handing out referendums to proclaim "NovaRussia". And Putin's grand delusion will continue if he thinks that Ukraine will idly stand by while HE carves out Ukraine.
No, not going to happen. Fueled by the genocidal horrors of Russian butchery, Ukraine will not accept a frozen conflict. They will want to win back their homeland.
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