While Western elite circles enthusiastically engage in debates about sending technologically superior weaponry to Kiev, few dare address the ominous, underlying truth that has been meticulously swept under the rug. It’s a shadowy tapestry that draws on surprising sources and paints a rather unsettling picture.
To give you an appetizer, Hal Brands, the Henry Kissinger Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins University, sheds light on Ukraine’s dire need for artillery ammunition. He portrays the prevailing struggle as an artillery-centric war. With a chilling precision, Brands warns: “if Kiev can’t muster enough artillery and ammunition, especially those crucial 155mm shells, it finds itself outgunned on the very frontiers of this power struggle.”
On March 29, Earle Mack, the illustrious former US ambassador to Finland, penned a disturbingly revealing narrative. He labeled this face-off as a proxy attrition warfare. This type of warfare, dear reader, is a haunting dance. It’s not about flashy victories but about eroding the enemy to its core. And to Mack’s alarm, Ukraine seemed destined to fray at the seams first.
Thomas Gibbons-Neff, a decorated former Marine infantryman with an undeniable grasp on the realities of warfare, paints a grim portrait of the situation on the front lines. His extensive visits led him to a Ukrainian commander’s chilling words: “We’re in a morbid exchange – our people for theirs. But they have the upper hand in numbers and gear.“
Ukraine’s artillery dilemma is made all the more poignant with their amalgamation of different munitions, each with its own quirks. This isn’t just a game of accuracy. We’re talking about old rockets and shells, handouts from foreign allies, wreaking havoc on Ukrainian equipment and causing harm to their soldiers.
But hold on, the rabbit hole goes deeper. Ukraine’s military communication isn’t built on sophisticated machinery; they’re leaning on the frail shoulders of messaging apps and chat rooms. This dependency on Starlink satellite internet is as intriguing as it is alarming. Imagine the nerve-wracking scenario where attacking troops must locate someone with Wi-Fi to beckon for support. The very lifelines of modern combat are being stretched thin.
Let’s pivot to a disturbing revelation: Moscow can churn out a staggering “1 million rounds of 152mm artillery ammunition annually.” Meanwhile, the US, with all its pomp and grandeur, can only muster a mere seventh of this production capability. Brands details a frantic, almost desperate search by the US for munitions, even resorting to repositioning rounds stored in Israel for Ukraine.
The European landscape is equally bleak. Their stockpiles are dwindling, their armed forces in shambles. The illustrious Max Hastings hints at Germany’s commitment to inject €100 billion to revitalize its drained forces. Yet, their efforts seem to be mere whispers in the wind, with only 1% of this budget seeing the light of day.
Europe’s conundrum isn’t limited to depleted arsenals. The real elephant in the room is the need for re-industrialization, an idea Washington has been subtly opposing for years. Furthermore, Europe’s defense sector remains fractured without a cohesive strategy, as pointed out by experts Sophia Besch and Max Bergmann.
Britain and its European cohorts are ensnared in a web of industrial challenges. Governments are feeling the monetary burn of the conflict, and even the mighty US isn’t exempt from these woes. Michael Brenes from Yale uncovers the crippling realities behind America’s “war machine.“
To distill this intricately woven narrative: the West’s deindustrialization conundrum is a ticking time bomb, threatening the very essence of its strategy in Ukraine. The somber reality is that the West’s promises to Kiev hang in the balance, shadowed by its own debilitating limitations.
This, my readers, is the unseen hand pulling the strings, the whispers behind closed doors.
One can only wonder, as the lines between fact and fiction blur, who really holds the power?
The answer, it seems, may be shrouded in layers of intricate deceptions and unsettling truths.
