-Analysis-
PARIS — Imagine that, like millions of people around the world, you’re in a DIY store in your town on a Saturday afternoon. Suddenly, two 500 kilogram glide bombs fall from the sky and destroy everything. That is what happened on May 25 at 4:00 p.m. to the inhabitants of Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine. The toll: 16 dead, dozens wounded, in an area without the slightest military objective to justify the bombardment.
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Two days earlier, the Vivat printing works in the northeastern Ukrainian city were hit by Russian missiles, killing seven people and destroying some 50,000 books. Again, not a military target. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recorded a video in the ruins of the printing works, made public this weekend, as the tragedy at the shopping center unfolded.
These two tragedies illustrate a feature of this conflict: life goes on, we buy DIY equipment, we print books, all the while waging war. The problem is that to wage war, you need weapons and ammunition, which only arrive in dribs and drabs, something Zelensky expressed his frustration with in his daily video after his visit to Kharkiv.
Nothing new
We’ve heard Zelensky complain time and time again that supplies are not arriving fast enough and in insufficient quantities. The problem is that Ukraine is currently being put to the test, with the Russian army on the offensive on at least two fronts, using its advantage.
The Russian army has been getting dangerously close.
The Russians had arrived at the gates of Kharkiv at the start of the invasion two years ago, hoping that the Russian-speaking population of this city of 1.5 million would rally. That didn’t happen. Ukraine subsequently retook part of the Kharkiv region. But in recent weeks, the Russian army has been getting dangerously close, forcing the evacuation of civilians from several localities. It is also bombing the city almost every day, to force its inhabitants to leave and to force Kyiv to negotiate under unfavorable conditions.
That is the trap Zelensky wants to avoid, and the reason for his insistent rhetoric in the face of Western hesitation.
Western contradictions
In his latest message to his fellow citizens, Zelensky made two specific demands. The first is that NATO aircraft should be able to shoot down Russian missiles and drones from the airspace of Alliance countries such as Poland and Romania. That would help protect western Ukraine and free up defense capabilities for the east. But it is not on the agenda.
The second has long been on the table: allowing Ukraine to use Western long-range missiles to strike Russian territory. Zelensky has reported a new build-up of Russian troops across the border, intending to open a new front. But he is unable to strike them on Russian territory, whereas American, British and French missiles are capable of doing so. Not to mention the German Taurus, which Berlin refuses to deliver.
What Zelensky is pointing out is the contradiction between saying that Russia must not win, and not doing everything to ensure Ukraine’s victory. This contradiction is due not only to the slow build-up of the defense industries but also to a hesitant will to act. The Kharkiv victims are tragic symbols of this.
