Ukraine is having a very tough time of it. While the Western media lauds her few successes such as Operation Vivaldi which is said to have gained Ukraine 100 square miles in the Eastern Donbas, it ignores the reality on the ground. Russia appears to be slowly gaining territory in such a way to minimise casualties. However, she has also accelerated the destruction of Ukraine’s energy and rail infrastructure promising a miserable winter for the roughly one half of the original population that is left.
Yes, you read that correctly. It seems that a combination of loss of territory, loss of life, and Ukrainians fleeing the country has halved the population. Furthermore, the Russians have effectively closed Ukraine’s Black Sea ports so grain exports can’t be shipped, nor can incoming arms and equipment be docked. The collapse of the population, of trade, the cost of war, and widely reported corruption have led to Ukraine being well and truly bust.
From Zelenskyy’s point of view, Trump lifting sanctions on Russian diesel couldn’t have come at a worst time. Clearly, Trump’s focus is on the mid-terms, and he has had no hesitation in throwing Ukraine under the bus. For Trump it could be desirable for Ukraine to capitulate before the mid-terms, allowing him to claim that he did the sensible thing and brought “Biden’s war” — which is likely to be his claim — to an end.
