Back in February of this year, Polish Defense Minister Gen. Rajmund Andrzejczak shocked his American show hosts when during a rare MSNBC Morning Joe appearance he provided a dose of cold hard reality as to what Ukraine and its Western backers are up against when it comes to facing Russia's military on the battlefield. At that time he urgently warned the West not to underestimate Moscow and the Russians' fighting ability. Nobody wanted to hear it, and few listened to him, despite being head of a powerful NATO member country's military, just in Russia's backyard.
It must be remembered that this was significantly before the start of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, which kicked off later by the beginning of June, and thus was a time of much greater optimism in Western mainstream press and among D.C. officials. There was even a prevailing narrative at the time that Russia was "losing". The clip is worth revisiting now that headlines have belatedly reversed course and US officials have expressed deep frustration amid the failing Ukraine offensive. Watch:
Polish Defense Chief Andrzejczak lays down cold hard truth on Americans, stating he’s not surprised at ferocity of Russian troops fighting in Ukraine and warns West NOT to underestimate Moscow, telling bewildered show hosts they can’t compare Russian forces to Western standards.… pic.twitter.com/SHlxYoPmgg
— Mats Nilsson (@mazzenilsson) September 7, 2023
