Austrian colonel says the West is falling victim to its own propaganda
(Baonghean.vn) - Austrian Colonel Markus Reisner said that many Westerners have overestimated the fighting ability of the Ukrainian army.
According to RT, Colonel Reisner warned that the Ukrainian army is not a super soldier who can continue tirelessly despite having insufficient weapons, contrary to the way they are portrayed in Western propaganda.
The military expert, who served as commander of Austrian forces in Mali and Kosovo, said it was unrealistic to expect miracles on the front lines while Kiev's backers were not providing the country with enough hardware to mount an effective offensive.
“The problem, frankly, is that we are victims of our own propaganda,” Mr. Reisner said in an interview with German television channel ZDF a few days ago.
“At the beginning of the war, we convinced ourselves that Ukrainian soldiers with German Panzerfausts (grenade launchers) in their hands were stopping the Russians,” he explained.
Those forces have been steadily weakened since then, Reisner noted, while the West has provided only 50 to 60 percent of what Ukraine's leaders require to launch an offensive of their own.
According to the Austrian colonel, Kiev has made the most of what is available but lacks “important elements, such as an effective air force”.
He added that the slow pace of Ukraine's offensive was giving Russian forces the opportunity to establish new defensive lines some distance from the current front line.
In the absence of any significant success, the US media began looking for a “scapegoat” for the apparent failure of the counteroffensive, but high expectations from the start were unrealistic, Reisner said.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed officials in Washington, reported last week that the US is unlikely to provide Ukraine with “anywhere near the same level” of military aid this year in 2024.
The media agency also claimed that Washington believes it has provided Kiev with enough military equipment and weapons to penetrate Russia's defense system.
According to the newspaper, US military officials are urging their Ukrainian counterparts to adhere to NATO tactics they were given ahead of the summer offensive. Ukraine’s refusal to do so is said to be a source of growing frustration among senior US leaders.
