Zelenskyy Meets With The US And Canada
Is war fatigue setting in as many expect the war to last for years?
The war in Ukraine is becoming more political day by day, and all those involved expect it to last for several years, which makes you wonder whether peace talks can ever resolve anything to do with Russia? The UN have remained silent over the suggestions put forward by Zelenskyy, although many have already proffered them citing the UN as ‘useless’. While Ukraine suggests Germany join the UN Security Council, there is a good reason why Germany won’t and can’t join and that’s because the far right are still in existence in the country.
NATO has tried to contain matters, and to some extent have been successful in stalling Russia, but in doing so, thousands if not millions of Ukrainians have lost their lives. We can never know the truth death toll or how many people have been displaced by the war, but we do know that Ukraine doesn’t have enough weapons and not enough of the newer weapons that Russia may have.
Poland is trying to repair the damage caused over the past few days by stating they still support Ukraine, but also to remind them not to insult the Poles. Duda, the Polish president reiterates that the issue of the grain imports will not affect the relationship between the countries, but it already has. Some believe that Poland is in the wrong and that it will affect them, while others like myself believe that Ukraine mismanaged the situation.
Don’t forget, Poland is not the first country to state that Ukraine should be ‘grateful’ for the aid received, and that ammunition and weapons are now in short supply as countries have donated their stocks to Ukraine. The US, and UK have stated that weapons cannot be supplied on demand, and other smaller countries have stated they do not have weapons to donate to Ukraine.
If the war is to linger on for several more years, then where will these weapons come from in order to defend Ukraine? Drip feeding the Ukrainians is better than nothing, but it is far from ideal from a tactical point at least. They have enough to protect themselves, but not enough weapons to defeat the Russians, so unless things change, it’s a zero sum game to Russia. All that NATO is doing is buying time for negotiations that will never take place—effective ones at least.
As for the reports claiming that the UK has been in secret talks with Russia, no country should be negotiating for Ukraine without Ukraine being present.
Day 576 (22 Sept)
Zelenskyy and the First Lady visited the White House and met with Biden. A further aid package was announced and that the uS would supply a small amount of ATACMS, which are long range missiles. This means that Ukraine could target areas on the Russian borders up to 180 km. These can be launched from the Black Sea or the ground, whereas the UK Storm Shadow cruise missiles must be launched from fighter jet.
It was also announced that Ukraine would produce weapons in collaboration with the US
Zelenskyy visited the 9/11 memorial and met with members of Congress. The current bill has not been passed as it faces objections from Republican Kevin McCarthy, who plans to strip funding ($300 million) for Ukraine.
If we don't get the aid, we will lose the war. (Zelenskyy, after meeting with US lawmakers)
Zelenskyy vists Canada and gives a speech in Toronto, and addressed the Canadian parliament. Canada pledges to support Ukraine with further aid and a 3 year plan, and to transfer seized Russian funds to Ukraine to help rebuild the country
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Zelenskyy was awarded the Atlantic Council Global Citizen award, where he dedicated it to the Ukrainians.
Duda, the Polish president did not meet with Zelenskyy at the UN amid the grain dispute, but stated they would meet to resolve the situation.
Ukrainian drones have hit the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Navy. This is symbolic because it is where the operations are coordinated around occupied Crimea. In order to de-occupy Crimea, the bases must be destroyed.
Day 577 (23 Sept)
Russia launches further attacks on Ukraine, this time in Kremenchuk, while Ukraine takes control of the Bakhmut-Horlivka highway.
Latvia will ban cars registered in Belarus and Russia. The cars will have to be taken out of the country or re-registered, or risk being confiscated.
Danish Leopard tanks that have been supplied to Ukraine have arrived damaged and are in need of repair. 10 can be repaired, while 2 are heavily damaged. This gives people an idea of how the tank coalition isn’t working. Having the numbers on paper is good, but Ukraine needs working weapons and it is running out of time before the winter weather slows down the counteroffensive. With ice and mud, tanks will get stuck and become slower, thus easier to attack and harder to remove for repairs.
President Zelensky and his wife were welcomed here in Toronto last night by a huge number of supporters, following PM Trudeau's announcement of further Canadian aid for Ukraine.