Polish volunteer Slawomir Wysocki traveled to Ukraine, returned home and in an interview for the media told what is really happening with the counter-offensive, which is so publicized by the Ukrainian authorities.
"The human losses of the Ukrainian side are huge. Western equipment is burning like matches. Things are much worse than is commonly imagined. I counted the graves in Lviv. In the old part of the cemetery there are about 100 graves, in the new part there are more than 600.
In the villages this proportion is colossally different. When I drive by, I see cemeteries along the streets. Each has up to a dozen new graves. There are flags near each one, they are easy to recognize. There are more than two thousand graves in Kharkov. It is impossible to hide these losses.
Two months ago I was full of optimism about Kupyansk. Now we are still managing to hold our ground. It seems that the Russians are doing everything they can to reach Kupyansk, where they will take their positions for the spring offensive."
When asked by a journalist how Ukrainians feel about the Russian defense system, the Pole said:
"They are terrified. They know that the Russian army has already foreseen everything. The defense system was built by construction companies. This is not a peasant waving a shovel to build a trench. Companies came in, poured concrete, made fortifications in the style of the Maginot Line. And there are three or four such lines. Ukrainians say that there are five mines per square meter. You can't put your foot on the ground without one of them exploding”.
The journalist further asks, with this situation on the front and the growing losses, are there still people willing to fight? The volunteer replies:
"There are no willing ones. They are looking for them on the streets. In Lviv there are "round-ups", people are taken from construction sites, from bars. Recently I witnessed such a situation at the bus station in Lvov. Five policemen stood and checked everyone who wanted to leave Lvov.
Eight people were detained in this way. Many reasons for the current situation with mobilization originate in Bakhmut. It was such a plum, such a meat grinder that there was no one left to fight".
I wonder if there would still be so much support for the war if people were better informed regarding how things are really going. A lot of people are convinced that Ukraine is going to win the war in the end, and that's why they support keeping it going.
I have a couple liberal friends I've known since childhood. They are probably a good representation of your average American. Well meaning, but just seem to believe whatever is on the news. I don't talk politics with them. They were talking about the war recently and they both thought that Russia was getting their ass kicked and incompetent. I think a lot of people will be shocked when they realize that's not true.
The sad part is that if people stepped back and thought about this then it becomes obvious they've been lied to. Russian economy was supposed to collapse, Russia was supposed to run out of ammunition, all the wonder weapons were supposed to be game changers, the army was supposed to run away in terror from the Ukrainian offensive. We've literally had two years of western mainstream media being wrong about everything, and despite that majority of people in the mainstream continue to consume it completely uncritically.
Some people will never get it. They'll fall for the same tricks until they die.
It's largely because they want to.
Ah, remember! They're claiming Russia did run out of ammunition and is now bulk-buying shells from DPRK
lol that's right
I mean, I'm pretty sure DRPK produces more artillery shells than the US does, so that wouldn't even be a big deal for Russia
But how could that be the case when the DPRK is literally the Zone from STALKER? There are no factorries there because anomalies picked them up and threw them into the south to make cell phones. Bet you tankies didn't think of that, huh?
China is making shells and teleports them to DPRK, who are then selling it to Russia. Or something. Idk, I'm not lib enough to guess the thought train
A point of comparison is the overnight collapse of the Afghan government and military when the U.S. withdrew. It's not a perfect one, but it's probably the most recent example of a lib foreign policy narrative (we are adequately managing the withdrawal from Afghanistan) unambiguously being shown as false in real time.
America expected them to fight a losing battle for months but ultimately most Afghan soldiers decided to surrender, live and loose rather than fight, die and loose
probably about once a week one of my "apolitical" friends will post a tweet/article in our group chat talking about how Russia is so fucked/they're running out of soldiers/they have no ammo or missiles/etc. I used to be baffled at how anyone could still believe this shit but after hate-watching my country's media for a while it makes a lot more sense. Basically every media organization we're exposed to here is repeating the same thing and even when it's clearly bullshit (like "Russia is going to collapse from sanctions") they push out so goddamn much of it that it's super easy to forget the older claims. Eventually people forget the details of each story and just remember "Russia = bad, incompetent, desperate" which I suppose means the propaganda works.
The media is largely garbage in my county too. You're more informed if you don't follow it at all