Ihor Cap: Commentary on the Russia-Ukraine War
When Ukraine asked for tanks and weapons back in September 2022, the Russians only started to build their fortifications. Ukraine got its tanks six months later, but by January 25, 2023, the well-armed and well-supplied Russians had hundreds of miles of well-built fortifications and minefields, not to mention even more mobilized troops. It is little wonder why the Ukrainians are slower in their counterattack. The relatively quick Ukrainian successes in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions did not face well-entrenched Russian troops. Casualties were still high on both sides.
Now that Ukraine is asking for air support, air defence systems, and more tanks in addition to longer-range artillery weapons, the West is still befuddled and slow to respond, at the cost of more Ukrainian lives. After all, it’s not their lives at stake here.
The weapons to mitigate Ukrainian suffering are assuaged by a long list of lamentable regrets. These may include: we can’t give you these weapons; we don’t have enough artillery; we cannot produce them fast enough; let’s not escalate matters; or you can’t use these weapons in certain situations while the morally deficient Russians continue to bomb civilian populations, food storage facilities, infrastructure, and revel in their genocidal acts. You wonder if the NATO countries were even ready to fight Russia after 80 years of preparation.
