Posted on 10/14/2024 1:19:55 PM PDT by ransomnote
Part 1:
First 25 minutes of video are Israel, Lebanon etc.
25:21 - Ukraine portion of video begins....
Supplying THAAD missiles to Ukraine is unlikely now that the US is sending them to Israel. Ultimate plan of the West is to establish a defense line oat the Dnipo river with air defenses (to includeTHAAD, fiber optics to be installed in this area). These plans have gone forward to some extent, but to a lesser degree than anticipated, and now that the US will give THADD to Israel, Mercouris thinks the original plan cannot go much further. Zelensky must realize chances of missiles from US are dwindling.
Kier Starmer told Zelensky that no weapon, in and of itself, that the Ukraine should not expect Storm Shadow missiles alone to win the war for Ukraine, and that for the moment, the British are not in a position to green light missile strikes inside Russia. The Americans remain opposed and Britain simply can’t go it alone on this one. Mercouris notes again that as Zelensky tours Europe, the door is closing in his face.
The Germans are also unwilling to support Zelensky’s request. Germany’s prior donation of Leopard tanks were difficult to supply. They ended up having to use stored Leopard 1’s instead of Leopard 2’s because they didn’t have enough of the modern ones and restarting production was not workable. The old Leopard 1’s were from the 1950’s and were then discovered to require extensive repair to get them working. Refurbishing old Leopard 1’s became a long protracted affair and although Ukraine did receive a few, they were not particularly effective on the battlefield. The modern Leopard 2’s are far more powerful than the older model.
The production of Leopard 1 shells by a company in Germany was said to be producing themg rapidly, but that turned out to be false. The company’s production of shells was 60% of that expected. Germany military and military production turned out to be in worse shape than previously known before the war in Ukraine.
35:54
So here comes Zelensky, asking for more. Chancellor Sholtz didn’t say yes, and didn’t say no. They said nothing, but instead they ignored his request. The Germans said in the media that they don’t have more to give and that the days of large arms shipments to Ukraine are now past. Zelensky’s pleas for entry into NATO were treated with the same silence. Sholtz and his officials listened but said nothing, and acted like nothing had been requested.
The Germans may still provide Ukraine with some of the IRIS-T air defense missiles they are manufacturing, but production is very slow. It seems that a decision to supply Ukraine with more Patriot Missiles has been essentially dropped. It looks like Germany’s idea of engaging in joint production of Patriot missiles with Japan may not go forward as it has fallen far behind schedule and hasn’t produced any missiles.
The Americans are having problems supplying weapons as the Pentagon is worried about depletion of their arsenals. The US has apparently said no more arms for Ukraine, as the Pentagon has to send arms to Israel. The Europeans are saying they simply can’t do more. Mercouris suggests that the Europeans may have told Zelensky that while they can’t supply more arms, perhaps it’s time for him to come up with some concessions, some kind of proposal that can move closer to the end of the war. That’s apparently the message Zelensky has been giving.
Speaker Johnson has said he’s grown tired of funding Ukraine. The only weapons systems the Ukraine is receiving in any numbers are F-16’s from the Netherlands, which could possibly be equipped to fire JASSM cruise missiles of the reports that the US may supply them turn out to be true.
41:17
So far, the results from the Ukraine’s efforts to fly the F-16’s have not good. There are reports, which have never been confirmed, that Russia destroyed Ukraine’s F-16’s on the ground. Zelensky is back in Kiev – his diplomatic efforts in the US, Ramstein, Europe have failed, he’s failed to get more weapons, the funding from Europe (and US) has failed (a loan). As usual, the Europeans are using Victor Orban of Hungary as a scapegoat for the blame regarding lack of funding.
The weather is turning colder. The combined missile and drones by Russia has further damaged the energy system further. There are predictions of rolling blackouts. Growing social objection and disaffection among the public; the population is increasingly angry at Zelensky’s efforts to gather more recruits.
Nothing is going well for the Ukrainians at this time. Bild Zeitung,a German media outlet, published another article which says the German Defense Ministry has analyzed the current situation in Ukraine and concluded that the Ukraine is incapable of another military offensive in any realistic time frame; that the state of the Ukrainian military is so weak, fragile and so short of reserves that a further offensive against the Russian army is now impossible.
The 79th Brigade of the Ukrainian army, which fought in some areas of Donbas, is being pushed back. The brigade is spreading stories that Zelensky, having despaired of an offensive against Russia, is now thinking about an offensive against Transnistria, a region in Moldova, which is independent within Moldova itself. Moldova is due to have tense presidential elections, the incumbent Maia Sandu is a strong supporter of the West, and the EU and is trying to get re-elected. President Sandu is trying to navigate a course to get Moldova into the EU, and into NATO. Her plan is widely opposed by the population of Transnistria, where there is a small, 1000 man Russian military presence functioning as a peace keeping force. The Russian ‘peace keepers’ were authorized by a UN Security Council Resolution dating back to the 1990’s.
At various times, there have been reports that the Ukrainian military, presumably in collaboration with Maia Sandu, is going to march into Transnistria and defeat the small Russian peace keeping force there, and occupy the area. The Ukrainians were said to be planning to do this to embarrass and humiliate the Russians.
END OF PART 1
PING
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