War in Ukraine: Europe’s Mirage of Victory and the Trauma of a Russian Victory

Why have all European media and politicians alike suddenly ganged up to cry an anticipated Ukrainian victory? Why is it so difficult to accept a Russian victory? This article tries to answer these questions in depth.

A Ukrainian imminent victory was forged, just on paper and in TV studios

More recently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has asked Europe for more money – and he got it – and promised victory in 90 days. Then, Ukrainian drones struck deeper inside Russia, attacking oil infrastructure and conducting some operations behind enemy lines, reinforcing an image of a Kremlin steadily losing control of the war. All the media and political elite of the EU and member states, including the European Parliament, have not looked at the reality on the battlefield and chanted in chorus that Ukraine was about to win or had won the war. Statements by Friedrich Merz, “Russia is beginning to realise it will not win this war”, or by Ursula von der Leyen, “The tide is turning,” were then repeated in chorus by most media.

It was common to read headlines on both sides of the Atlantic, such as “The tide is turning” (Associated Press), “Has Ukraine Turned the Tide?” (The American Prospect), “Ukraine’s military success is exposing the myth of inevitable Russian victory” (The Atlantic Council), “How Ukraine Brought the War to Russia” (The New Yorker), “Despite his best efforts, Trump may just have won the war for Kyiv” (The Telegraph), “Russia is losing its war against Ukraine” (The Independent), and so it goes.

It was therefore remarkable that the person who perhaps did most to challenge this false narrative was not a Western realist or a critic of Kyiv, but Ukraine’s own former commander-in-chief, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, now ambassador to the United Kingdom. In a rare intervention, he warned against assuming that Russia had already “effectively lost the war,” describing such conclusions........

© New Eastern Outlook