The West has not yet surrendered Ukraine, but it has forgotten that a difficult war is going on and is instead solving its own problems, a Latvian volunteer soldier in Ukraine nicknamed “Ghost” admitted on Latvian Television last night.
For security reasons, the man’s name was withheld, but he stated that he has been in the hot zone for more than a year and a half and that his specialization is sniper/combat medic. Most of the time he has had to rescue people, but recently he has been more active with a gun.
Describing the situation on the frontline, Ghost pointed out that, despite the continued vigor to fight, fatigue among the Ukrainian defenders is very high, there is no active advance to recapture territory and the soldiers who are not rotated are no longer physically able to fight as they used to.
“We are lacking everything, extremely lacking – we are slowly returning to the situation at the beginning of the war, but much harder,” the soldier stressed, adding that the Russians are also learning how to build defensive positions.
Conditions at the front are tough and there are places where it is possible to rest better, but there are places where you have to stay in the open for long periods of time while the shelling continues. Over the past year, Ghost’s unit has said goodbye to a fallen comrade almost every week.
The internal political developments in Ukraine are also reverberating among the soldiers, as there is uncertainty about the solutions, Ghost pointed out, reminding that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and now former Ukrainian Army Commander Valery Zaluzhny said that a stalemate had developed at the front.
Ghost did not deny that there were many questions about Oleksandr Syrsky’s appointment as Commander of the Ukrainian Army, but only time would tell whether this decision was the right one. Ghost also pointed to the need to improve the mobilization policy.
Asked why the planned counter-offensive failed last year, Ghost replied that the reasons lay in delayed ammunition deliveries and a large number of wrong decisions, given that the attack was to be launched against prepared defensive positions.
The Ukrainians need heavy equipment, artillery, ammunition and air power from the West. There is a lot of hope for the F-16s, but it is a question of when they will arrive, Ghost stressed.
Asked if the West has already betrayed Ukraine, the soldier replied: “I wouldn’t say it has, but it looks more like it has forgotten that there is a serious war going on and the West is dealing with its own problems.”
Ghost is currently in Latvia, but plans on going back to Ukraine, because “once you start, you have to finish”.
Source: BNS
(Reproduction of BNS information in mass media and other websites without written consent of BNS is prohibited.)