March 29, 2024 (EIRNS)—"It’s time we talked about the fall of Kyiv.” So declares The Times of London columnist Iain Martin in a March 27 column. Martin puts forward this scenario of the near future: “While the allies squabbled and the United States eventually provided another $60 billion in aid, as spring turned to summer, Putin’s troops broke through the lines in the south and east. Retreating Ukrainian forces were able only to slow the advance. When the Russians closed in on the capital, a new wave of refugees fled Ukraine seeking safety from incessant bombardment.”
This, he says, “is the nightmare scenario now being contemplated by western policymakers. Events are forcing military and civilian leaders in London, Washington, Paris and Brussels to map out the catastrophic collapse of Ukrainian forces denied the weapons and munitions they need.” This is not a frozen conflict, he goes on. Instead, “the front line is bitterly contested and there is a real risk of Ukrainian forces being pushed back. NATO leaders must hope their gathering in Washington in July for a summit celebrating the 75th anniversary of the alliance is not consumed by such a crisis.”
“When will the message be finally understood that peace for European populations is guaranteed only by strength? When Ukraine falls and Putin moves on to menacing the Baltics, Poland, Finland, Sweden or Norway?” Martin asks.
