It might have been part of Ukraine’s new rivalry with Poland in Central & Eastern Europe aimed at undermining the de facto Polish-led Three Seas initiative of dual-use north-south connectivity projects that’ll compete with Ukraine’s newly announced Carpathian Initiative of dual-use east-west ones.
I would have thought that the Ukrainians would be more focused on salvaging something from the wreckage of their country than in fomenting trouble with their neighbors.
" It’s within the aforesaid strategic context that this analysis here argued that Ukraine is trying to outflank Poland in the Baltic States"
Andrew, please elaborate on this. How can a country that is demographically, economically, socially, and military devastated hope to lead anything in the future. It doesnt make sense.
Ukraine has the largest and most battle-hardened army on the continent behind Russia’s, it commands a lot of political weight among most EU members nowadays, and it proposed replacing US troops across Europe with its own — including in the Baltics — once the conflict ends if the US withdraws them.
It’s also baked to the hilt by Germany, which is competing with Poland in the region and thus using Ukraine as a proxy of sorts to ensure that any ambitious plans by Poland fail. You can read the hyperlinked analyses to get a better idea of this rivalry.
Power and influence can be exerted even by very domestically troubled countries. Look at Pakistan, it’s poised to place the entire Gulf minus Iran under its military patronage despite being extremely poor, riddled with terrorism, and with a litany of social ailments.
Polish nationalists take the regional challenge posed by German-backed Ukraine very seriously nowadays. It’s a common subject of discussion for them since Ukraine’s ultra-nationalists have repeatedly revived the short-lived interwar Ukrainian state’s claims to modern-day Poland.
the current situation shows why the moral solutions are irreplaceable - you overlook corruption, then you permanentize the domination of the former lumpen and organized crime; you delay the closeness between poland and germany, then allow ukraine to sell her soul to anyone and fill the space according to foreign interests.
" Ukraine has the largest and most battle-hardened army on the continent behind Russia’s,"
Battle hardened or decimated ? 30,000 replacements monthly is an insane number for a nation facing demographic collapse. Unless total collapse was the intended result in the first place.
" Yesterday the head of the Presidential Office General Kyrylo Budanov made a comment which suggests a different, much higher, number:
Ukraine must mobilize at least 30,000 people monthly to maintain its current position on the battlefield, Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Presidential Office said.
…
“Unfortunately, we have to accept it [mobilization] as it is. We cannot do otherwise,” Budanov said, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
“We have to find the courage and honestly say: we cannot mobilize fewer than 30,000 people a month. This is the minimum number needed to maintain what we have,” he continued."
This notion that Ukraine is some weak adversary doesn’t hold up to scrutiny since Russia would have steamrolled it already if that was the case.
Sure, Western arms, financing, intel, and logistics are an indispensable part, but they’re still the ones doing the fighting and developing drone warfare, which is the cutting edge of modern warfare.
I would have thought that the Ukrainians would be more focused on salvaging something from the wreckage of their country than in fomenting trouble with their neighbors.
" It’s within the aforesaid strategic context that this analysis here argued that Ukraine is trying to outflank Poland in the Baltic States"
Andrew, please elaborate on this. How can a country that is demographically, economically, socially, and military devastated hope to lead anything in the future. It doesnt make sense.
Ukraine has the largest and most battle-hardened army on the continent behind Russia’s, it commands a lot of political weight among most EU members nowadays, and it proposed replacing US troops across Europe with its own — including in the Baltics — once the conflict ends if the US withdraws them.
It’s also baked to the hilt by Germany, which is competing with Poland in the region and thus using Ukraine as a proxy of sorts to ensure that any ambitious plans by Poland fail. You can read the hyperlinked analyses to get a better idea of this rivalry.
Power and influence can be exerted even by very domestically troubled countries. Look at Pakistan, it’s poised to place the entire Gulf minus Iran under its military patronage despite being extremely poor, riddled with terrorism, and with a litany of social ailments.
Polish nationalists take the regional challenge posed by German-backed Ukraine very seriously nowadays. It’s a common subject of discussion for them since Ukraine’s ultra-nationalists have repeatedly revived the short-lived interwar Ukrainian state’s claims to modern-day Poland.
They should also watch the Silesia region and the "yearnings" of the "Poles" there. Germany salivates.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silesian_independence
the current situation shows why the moral solutions are irreplaceable - you overlook corruption, then you permanentize the domination of the former lumpen and organized crime; you delay the closeness between poland and germany, then allow ukraine to sell her soul to anyone and fill the space according to foreign interests.
" Ukraine has the largest and most battle-hardened army on the continent behind Russia’s,"
Battle hardened or decimated ? 30,000 replacements monthly is an insane number for a nation facing demographic collapse. Unless total collapse was the intended result in the first place.
" Yesterday the head of the Presidential Office General Kyrylo Budanov made a comment which suggests a different, much higher, number:
Ukraine must mobilize at least 30,000 people monthly to maintain its current position on the battlefield, Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Presidential Office said.
…
“Unfortunately, we have to accept it [mobilization] as it is. We cannot do otherwise,” Budanov said, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
“We have to find the courage and honestly say: we cannot mobilize fewer than 30,000 people a month. This is the minimum number needed to maintain what we have,” he continued."
Yes, battle-hardened; their drone-capabilities are world-class and that’s a major reason why Russia has struggled to advance.
This notion that Ukraine is some weak adversary doesn’t hold up to scrutiny since Russia would have steamrolled it already if that was the case.
Sure, Western arms, financing, intel, and logistics are an indispensable part, but they’re still the ones doing the fighting and developing drone warfare, which is the cutting edge of modern warfare.