As the smoke is beginning to clear, and accounts are being taken, it is universally being recognized throughout the world that Ukraine’s counteroffensive has failed, and failed badly. Despite tens of billions of dollars in the most advanced weaponry, and all the other assistance given by the countries of NATO, it still has not been enough to even break Russia’s massive defensive lines in eastern Ukraine, let alone retake previously held territories.
To anyone following these developments outside of the carefully managed NATO-land bubble, this comes as no surprise. But to others who have been counting on an impending collapse of Russia, it is certainly bitter news, and it is likely to set off more opposition from within the U.S. Congress to further funding to Ukraine. Desperate stories are now being spun to maintain the semblance that Ukraine has the situation under control, as can be seen from recent comments by Ukrainian ministers about the “breakthrough” of the Aug. 5-6 Saudi Arabian peace conference in Jeddah—a story which is far from the truth. Expect these frantic attempts to grow over the coming days and weeks.
In this light, consider the news that the six Ukrainian pilots being trained to fly F-16s will not be combat-ready until the summer of 2024, despite the fact that these planes were supposed to be a game-changer. Every major escalation of this sort over the last year and a half has failed to alter the reality of this war—a war which has killed hundreds of thousands of troops and all for nothing! Reports now coming in indicate that Russia has even begun to go on the offensive again in the wake of Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
Other hotspots around the world have also been showing signs of peaceful resolution, despite the efforts at destabilization by Western nations as part of their proxy war against Russia and China. In the case of Niger, worries about an impending military intervention from neighboring ECOWAS countries came down a notch this weekend following the suspension of the ECOWAS military planning meeting. It is widely recognized that if a war breaks out in Niger it would quickly spiral into a continent-wide conflict, something almost no one in the region wants. Then in Eastern Europe, Belarusian President Lukashenko has asked his Prime Minister to reach out to Poland for talks, and expressed his desire to “fix relations” with their neighbor. Poland has recently been increasing tensions and rhetoric with Belarus, including the decision to deploy 10,000 troops to their shared border.
Nothing has been resolved at a fundamental level, however, and the increased desperation is sure to look for new areas to inflame. One such area is likely to be the Black Sea, an extremely sensitive and vital region for Russia—and Western geopoliticians know this well. Two successful drone attacks have taken place on Russian ships there over the last week, an oil tanker and a warship, in addition to a continuous barrage of unsuccessful drone strikes by air.
It is also anticipated that Germany will announce its decision to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine. These are long-range (500 km) missiles that would give Ukraine the capability to strike deep into Russian territory, further embroiling NATO into the conflict with Russia. In addition, it would give Ukraine increased ability to strike Russian ships in the Black Sea. Russia’s ambassador to Germany responded by saying that if Germany goes ahead with this, it will be crossing one of Russia’s “red lines.”
The question is: When is the last red line crossed? And what kind of madmen are willing to play this game?
Peace negotiations could begin tomorrow if sane leadership emerged within Western countries. The continued attempts to ignore this reality and further push Ukraine into a bloodbath with their Russian neighbors is a clear indication of the moral bankruptcy of Western policy. More and more of the world is seeing that clearly.
Voices of sanity are needed now more than ever to speak out and demand a new policy of peace, before the next mistake or miscommunication lands the world in a hot war between nuclear superpowers. Join the International Peace Coalition and Humanity For Peace to build such a global movement for peace and security for all nations, and don’t let the current window of opportunity be lost. (https://schillerinstitute.com/?s=International+Peace+Coalition) (https://schillerinstitute.com/blog/2023/08/06/humanity-for-peace-international-demonstration/)
