The “modern world” is too accustomed to success and the “colossal” effort by the nation to push back Russia’s invasion is not appreciated, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky told his people in his nightly address to the nation.
Many didn’t expect Ukraine to survive the Russian invasion when it came, but now it has they don’t appreciate how difficult that has been, Ukraine’s Zelensky said as part of his nightly televised address in remarks again appearing to address concerns about how long the war is lasting, and how much it is costing.
Echoing previous comments where he chastised his Western sponsors for wanting him to win the war faster, Zelensky told the camera on Tuesday night in remarks reproduced by Ukrainian state publisher Ukrinform that: “The modern world is arranged in such a way that it gets used to success too quickly.” In June, Zelensky had criticised those abroad for thinking the Ukraine war is like a war film and would be neatly wrapped up shortly.
He said then: “Whatever some might want, including attempts to pressure us, with all due respect, we will advance on the battlefield the way we deem best… Some people believe this is a Hollywood movie and expect results now. It’s not.”
Top Ukraine General Blames Counteroffensive Struggles on Lack of Western Fighter Jets and Weaponshttps://t.co/kz8eSKKPya
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Speaking last night, Zelensky also called out an apparent hypocrisy in how he perceived foreign views on the war, saying Western observers first didn’t expect Ukraine to survive the war, and then took it for granted when it did, a view he said played down the achievements of his nation. He continued: ” When full-scale aggression began, many in the world expected that Ukraine would not stand. Now the colossal things done by our people, all our soldiers, are simply taken for granted.
“Ukraine’s success in the Battle of the Black Sea is something that will be in the history books, although not so often discussed now. But… No matter what, we have to do our part – defend our state, Ukrainian independence, our life, our culture, Ukrainian freedom.”
That Ukraine’s NATO backers didn’t expect the country to repel the Russian invasion when it came last year has been openly admitted by some leaders, including Britain’s Minister of State for the Armed Forces James Heappey, who speaking at a conference last month made implicit the planning was for Britain to support an underground resistance, not a conventional defence. He said the state-of-the-art Anglo-Swedish NLAW missiles which grabbed headlines worldwide when they destroyed numbers of Russian tanks in the early days of the way were actually intended to be given to freedom fighters after the Ukrainian nation had been defeated.
