Yury Kobzar17:13, 03.10.23

The emotional high of the first months of the war is being replaced by fatigue from the conflict on the other side of Europe.

With no end in sight to the war in Ukraine , politicians and the public in the West are gradually beginning to lose the desire to support Ukrainians with anything more than blue and yellow flags on the streets of European cities. Gabi Hinsliff, a political commentator for the British publication The Guardian, writes about this .

The journalist notes that the initial emotional upsurge and readiness to help Ukraine survive at all costs is now being replaced by “some strange public stupor, quietly suppressing the high emotions of the first days of the war.” 

This is the most dangerous moment for Ukraine, whose soldiers are mired in a critical military offensive and whose civilians face another brutal winter as Russia tries to freeze them into submission by attacking their energy infrastructure. But it is Western, not Ukrainian, resolve that is showing the most worrying signs unsteadiness,” writes the columnist.

Hinsliff lists warning signs for Ukraine: the refusal of the US Congress to finance the costs of supporting Ukraine, Donald Trump’s statements about stopping military supplies to Kiev if he comes to power, and the Putinist victory in the elections in Slovakia. According to the observer, such views are now “seeping through the political undergrowth” in Britain itself.

Thus, right-wing populists spread conspiracy theories about Ukraine, NATO and the IMF, promoting the idea that “we cannot afford to continue supporting Ukraine.” These voices are becoming louder in the West. In this context, Gabi Hinsliff recalls Elon Musk’s recent scandalous tweet, in which he ridiculed Vladimir Zelensky’s attempts to obtain Western assistance.

The columnist notes that the West has an existential interest in stopping Russian aggression in Europe, but does not want to risk the lives of its own soldiers. That is why an “unwritten agreement” arose that Ukraine is fighting, and the West is providing material and financial support. But “with the onset of difficult times,” this idea is losing supporters.

“We have a chance to help end this. The Russian army is cracking,” wrote former British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace in an article for the Daily Telegraph. 

“But, perhaps, only if Western policy is not the first to crack,” adds the Guardian columnist.

(C)UNIAN 2023