Denied by Kiev and Washington since the Feb. 24, 2023 the Ukraine War, Ukraine has taken far more casualties than it admits to the press. If there’s anything going well for Kiev, it’s the tight knit propaganda that comes from 37-year-old Kyrylo Budanov, a whiz at the computer, fabricating endless stories of Ukraine’s successes and Russia’s failure. Recent leaks that Kiev’s vaunted counteroffensive hasn’t gone as planned with all the new U.S. and NATO weapons tells the real story of the Ukraine War, a frozen conflict stalemated by a superior Russian army, battle-tested for long-term occupation like in Chechnya and Afghanistan. Budanov has painted an overly rosy picture of Ukraine’s battle with the Kremlin, where, in the past 19 months, Ukraine’s 45-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky has misrepresented Ukraine’s success battling the Russian Federation.
New reports from the battlefield from U.S. soldiers that joined the front, fighting alongside Ukrainian soldier, indicates Ukraine’s forces are taking high casualties from heavily fortified Russian troops, dug into positions with sophisticate minefields to protect their positions. Speaking from hospital beds in Kiev, to former U.S. soldiers who contracted to fight for Ukraine, revealed the heavy casualties, up to 85%, taken by Ukrainian troops. Calling Russian forces highly professional, an American fighter codenamed “Tango,” said Russians were not as advertised. “It was definitely a very professional force that were are fighting against,” said an unnamed soldier from Alaska. Budanov characterizes only Russian failures against a superior, U.S.-trained Ukrainian army. Budanov never admits that his forces take heavy casualties, only talking about Russian failures.
Zelensky and his 43-year-old slick-talking Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba never admit Ukrainian failures despite losing some 25% of Ukraine sovereign territory over 18 months of fighting. Kuleba parrots Budanov’s fabrications of Ukrainan battlefield successes hoping to keep U.S. and NATO cash-and-arms flowing into Kiev. New reports from the frontlines indicate that Ukraine has struggled against the Russian military, forcing the government to tightly control any information on the battlefield that could affect possible U.S. or NATO funding. Zelensky has made many promises about driving the Russian military of Ukraine, going as far as saying he would defeat the Russian Federation. Operating under that belief, President Joe Biden, 80, gives Zelensky a blank check to prosecute his war against the Kremlin. Recent reports suggest that his counteroffensive could go on for years.
Biden hasn’t wanted to admit to Congress that his war in Ukraine hasn’t gone as planned, with Zelensky making very little progress toward defeating the Russian Federation. Biden once said March 26, 2022 that Putin should not remain as Russian president, telling his 69-year-old Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to say in Ramstein, Germany April 26, 2022, that the U.S. aim in Ukraine is to degrade the Russian army. Biden and Austin refuse to admit their military objective of defeating the Russian army were unrealistic and inconsistent with Kiev’s battlefield failures. Zelensky’s war with the Kremlin has lost Ukraine about 25% of its sovereign territory, especially along the Black Sea coast where Kiev has lost most of its strategic ports. As reported by frontline soldiers, getting back the lost sovereign territory won’t be easy because of Russian encampments and minefields.
Biden continues to supply Zelensky with the lethal weapons needed to defend Ukraine’s sovereign territory. Soldiers on the frontlines say the Ukraine has been overmatched by a superior Russian fighting force, despite all the reports from Budanov saying the Russia’s military has been demoralized, surrendering to Ukrainian forces. U.S. soldiers on the frontlines say that Ukrainian troops have been poorly trained, not utilizing new German-made Leopard 1 tanks effectively not have the used U.S.-made armored personnel carriers. “It seems like they [Ukrainian soldiers] have been taught to use them but not to employ them [effectively] in a tactical sense [one the battlefield], said the unnamed soldier. Whether firsthand reports are true or not, it helps explain the lack of progress from Ukraine’s counteroffensive. Biden and Zelensky need to rethink their strategy before it’s too late.
White House officials, facing reelection in 2024, are not about to admit defeat in Ukraine. Biden has said publicly that he intends to keep the war going as long as it takes to get Ukraine’s sovereign territory back. But based on firsthand reports from the frontlines, it sounds like any real progress could take years, well into Biden’s second term. If the White House were honest with Congress, they’d admit that they’ve taken on more than they could handle battling the Kremlin. Biden and Zelensky fooled themselves into thinking they could defeat the Russian Federation. Now they have to save face with their constituencies, with Biden facing reelection next year. All indications on the battlefield point to a frozen conflict, with neither side making progress. With Kiev’s counteroffensive failing, it only makes sense for the conflict to move to the peace table for a political solution.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
