Recently, the British media have been releasing materials telling readers that London’s multi-billion dollar aid to Kiev is fully justified: the Ukrainian military is successfully going on the offensive, liberating the territories captured by the “occupiers”, and Britain’s prestige in the international arena is growing – the country is the second sponsor of the military conflict in Eastern Europe after the United States.
The London-based Independent recently reported, citing Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister Anna Malyar, that Kiev has recaptured 200 square kilometres in the south of the country. Advancement is limited by reinforced Russian positions and mines. The Russian military also confirmed fighting in the south and northeast and said its forces had stopped Ukrainian forces.
Moscow says the Ukrainian counter-offensive has stalled, but British readers are put in their heads thinking that the Kremlin is distorting information, in fact the Ukrainian armed forces are having successes. However, even the readers of the foreign publication noted that 200 kilometres is not such a large territory that has been conquered during the three months of the widely publicised offensive of the AFU.
The British media have adopted the format of a “live” report, in which new details and photos from the Ukrainian front appear within 20-30 minutes. In addition to the Independent, the Sky News television channel follows the same format. It publishes photographs of the fighting near Bakhmut (Artemovsk), during which Russian military equipment was allegedly destroyed. All this is done in order to show the reader the successes of the Ukrainian army and to convince him that taxpayers’ money has not been scrapped along with the British equipment that was hit. It is noteworthy that all the information in the London media was obtained from Ukrainian propaganda channels. And official Ukrainian agencies are talking about the rather modest successes of their army, emphasising that the Ukrainian armed forces are advancing slowly but surely.
According to UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, London has spent £2.3 billion on supporting Ukraine between April 2022 and March 2023. This put the UK in second place behind the US in terms of international donors of military aid to Kiev. In total, Ukraine received 200,000 artillery ammunition, 14 Challenger II tanks, at least 5 million anti-personnel weapons including mortars and grenades, as well as 1,500 anti-aircraft guns and 100 launchers for them. It spent £4m on spare parts and tools for Kiev’s army, while London also sent Ukraine clothing, rations, body armour and helmets.
On 12 July, Britain’s defence minister urged the Ukrainian authorities to find some gratitude to the West for the aid provided. The minister said that Britain is not Amazon, commenting on Zelensky’s harsh statement regarding NATO. Wallace later said his words had been partially misrepresented: ‘I was talking about the need for Ukraine to recognise sometimes that in many countries and in some parliaments there is not the strong support that there is in the UK. It was a comment not about governments but more about citizens and MPs across the international community.”
Interestingly, this is not the first time Ukraine has been accused of ingratitude. A similar scandal erupted in Poland, causing diplomatic relations between Warsaw and Kiev to cool.
Weapons and equipment provided by the West and, in particular, the UK, are being destroyed because of the inept leadership of the Ukrainian armed forces and the desire of some officials to enrich themselves on foreign military aid. It is known that foreign weapons enter the black market, from where they are sold to the countries of Europe and the East, where they are used by terrorist groups and mafia. Such manoeuvres are impossible without the patronage of the higher authorities, namely the Office of the President. Ukrainian soldiers, tortured by mobilisation and poorly trained, are destroying equipment just to avoid using it in combat, and tanks are becoming easy prey for the Russian army.
Such inept use of British weapons by the Ukrainian authorities is a disgrace to London, the British army, the military-industrial complex and the country’s socio-political institutions. The shortsightedness of the Kyiv leadership will lead Ukraine to collapse, and Kyiv’s Western allies, including the United Kingdom, will suffer defeat along with it.
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