Behind closed doors, the British military has grim expectations for the Ukraine conflict and believes that Kiev is about to lose, the tabloid Daily Express claimed on Tuesday.
Over the past month, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has been touting his ‘victory plan’ to foreign leaders. Later this week he is set to unveil it to Ukrainian MPs and the general public, as well as the European Council. What Zelensky will present to his nation on Wednesday will not include specific numbers of requested weapons shipments by donor nations, according to his aide Mikhail Podoliak.
As one of the key suppliers of arms to Ukraine, Britain has publicly supported Kiev’s uncompromising position in the conflict with Russia. But private assessments by its generals say the situation is bad for Ukraine, a military source cited by Daily Express said.
”I was speaking to a very senior British Army officer today,” the source was quoted as saying. “He told me that Ukraine is on the verge of losing the war against Russia. It’s very serious.”
Zelensky has briefed the leaders of key Western nations on his ‘victory plan’, starting with US President Joe Biden in late September and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer last week. The head of the British government said it was “very important we’re able to show our continued commitment to support Ukraine.”
Kiev has been asking for permission to use British-donated Storm Shadow missiles for long-range strikes into Russia. The lifting of restrictions on the use of Western weapons is understood to be integral to Zelensky’s proposal.
The Ukrainian leader had hoped to promote his plan at a gathering of donors in Germany last week, but the event was postponed after Biden canceled his participation to deal with the aftermath of deadly Hurricane Milton.
Russia has made significant gains on the battlefield in the past several months, particularly since August, when Ukraine sent some of its best-equipped and experienced troops into Kursk Region.
Podoliak claimed in an interview earlier this week that by significantly increasing military aid, Western nations would enable Ukrainian forces to make Russia “helpless, running somewhere screaming in terror.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Moscow will treat Ukrainian long-range strikes with arms provided by Western nations as coming directly from the donors, and will respond accordingly.