Propagandists have significantly distorted the article in The Telegraph. On the contrary, the author believes that such statements lack logic. The Telegraph article states that for a successful advance, the Ukrainian military needs not only Western tanks, but also complete air dominance, the latest military technology, and complete freedom of action, including in enemy territory. The author of The Telegraph calls on the West not to reduce the intensity of military assistance to Ukraine, and moreover, to provide Ukraine with the necessary amount of modern precision strike weapons (ATACMS, F-16 fighters, the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Munition (JASSM), etc.).
Some Russian media outlets and netizens, citing The Telegraph, write that Washington has allegedly criticized the Ukrainian Armed Forces for “misusing” NATO equipment. The publications say that, according to experts and the US military, Ukraine was supposed to conduct a “blitzkrieg” with the help of foreign military equipment, but the Ukrainian military is “doing something wrong” despite Western training.
“The U.S. believes that with the help of NATO tanks, Ukrainians could have carried out a blitzkrieg, but they must be badly trained. If they had Western officers instead, they would have done a much better job,” The Telegraph allegedly said.
In fact, the message spread by the Russian media is another manipulation. Propagandists have significantly distorted the content of The Telegraph’s piece, taking some statements out of context.
The article in question is “Ukraine’s counter-offensive has failed for now – the West needs a new plan” by Lewis Page, dated November 12, 2023. The author of the article discusses why the Ukrainian counter-offensive has not met the expectations of some Western analysts and what difficulties the Ukrainian military is facing during offensive operations.
The author writes that many Western commentators, including former military officers, had previously expressed the opinion that Western tanks, if properly used, would allow for a blitzkrieg and end the war in a matter of weeks. However, these predictions did not materialize. Page writes that these analysts have no choice but to admit that they were wrong (which they usually don’t do) or to continue to insist that Western tanks can change the course of the war, but that the Ukrainian army is using them incorrectly. Some of these analysts even believe that Western officers would use an armored division better than the Ukrainians do.
However, the author of the publication, Lewis Page, is very ironic about such statements. “Even if one is an armoured warfare true believer, it’s still hard to picture a Western general really doing much better than Zaluzhny and his colleagues,” the author writes. Page draws attention to the fact that blitzkrieg requires breaking through the enemy’s line of defense, which is a difficult task even for a well-equipped army.
Moreover, Page believes that such statements lack logic. “We should stop listening to the argument that the Ukrainians are fighting wrongly. Yes, Western tank armies have beaten Soviet-equipped ones easily in Iraq and Kuwait but this was not because they had Western tanks and Western officers: they won because they had total dominance of the air and thus could use precision strike weapons anywhere in theatre,” Page writes.
The Telegraph author also refers to military history. He writes that in 1940, during the attack on France, the German army managed to successfully conduct a blitzkrieg. German General Heinz Guderian bypassed the heavily fortified Maginot Line through Luxembourg and Belgium. Such a scenario is impossible in Ukraine – the front line is now about 1500 kilometers long. Among the problems that slow down the movement of the Ukrainian army, the author names the ban on the use of Western weapons in Russia, slow decision-making on the supply of weapons and overdue delivery times.
“Bluntly, there has been no Ukrainian military failure here. We in the West have forced them to fight with their hands tied behind their backs. The fact that they have made any progress at all is impressive,” Page concludes.
The author also calls for continued financial and military support for Ukraine. “As long as the Ukrainians are fighting, Vladimir Putin’s threat to anyone else is hugely diminished. Westerners are spending small percentages of our normal defence budgets on Ukraine assistance in order to be more or less entirely safe from Russia,” the article says. In addition, Page believes that “breaking the deadlock” means to provide Ukraine with Western precision weapons – proper full-fat ATACMS, F-16 fighters, Joint Air-to-Surface Munitions (JASSM), etc.
Earlier, StopFake journalists refuted the information that analysts at The Guardian allegedly believe that Putin has already won the war in Ukraine.
