Zelensky Lobbies Baltic States While Lashing Out At Western Hesitation
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is on a tour of Baltic states on Wednesday, seeking to bolster support from reliable partners at a moment US and EU aid has stalled and remains in question.
From the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius he warned that Western hesitation will only embolden Putin. Zelensky has recently lashed out in disappointment over his Western partners losing focus on Ukraine's plight, also as the Gaza crisis has for months taken center stage in global consciousness.
During this first stage of this tour of Baltic allies Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia he complained that his armed forces are "sorely lacking" in advanced anti-air technology, also at a moment Russia has increased missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities in response to Ukrainian cross-border attacks on Belgorod.
Putin "is not going to stop" Zelensky claimed, and emphasized, "He wants to occupy us completely." However, the stalled battlefield situation strongly suggests Russian forces are content to solidify hold over the majority of the four annexed territories in the east at this point.
"And sometimes, the insecurity of partners regarding financial and military aid to Ukraine only increases Russia's courage and strength," Zelensky continued in an indirect swipe at the US and Western Europe. "He (Putin) won't finish this (war), until we all finish him together."
Given the audience, Zelensky took the opportunity to warn that "Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova may be next".
"In recent days, Russia hit Ukraine with a total of 500 devices: we destroyed 70 percent of them," Zelensky said. "Air-defense systems are the number one thing that we lack."
Kiev has already for weeks been signaling the world that it is ready to blame Washington if it loses the war (which already looks like the outcome), given Biden's planned over $60 billion in Ukraine defense aid was held up by GOP members of Congress.
Zelensky's newest speech was met with extreme skepticism among some pro-Moscow pundits...
Zelensky arrived in Vilnius to tell scary stories about how Putin is going to invade Finland and Uzbekistan. Also Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova… pic.twitter.com/hlFXt0vr4u
— Marinochka🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺 (@joiedevivre789) January 10, 2024
But the reality is that Ukrainian forces were already losing the war, given top US officials have long acknowledged the counteroffensive has stalled and failed, even with all the weapons the US has already poured in. Likely Kiev is headed toward a situation where it will be forced to finally negotiate and cede territory.