The West is doing too little to undermine Russia’s military efforts, Mikhail Podoliak has complained
Ukraine is unlikely to see the opening of a “second front” against Russia, a top adviser to Vladimir Zelensky has said. He also accused the West of failing to sever Moscow’s ties with its partners.
Writing on Telegram on Tuesday, Mikhail Podoliak speculated that the Ukraine conflict had led to the emergence of a “strategic aggressive cartel” consisting of Russia, Iran and North Korea, which posed “a new global threat to the West.”
He also argued that Kiev was fighting not only against Moscow, but against all of those countries, which he said were sending military aid to Russia to be used in the Ukraine conflict. This accusation has been rejected by Moscow, Tehran, and Pyongyang.
Ukraine “does not have the resources to oppose the entire alliance,” Podoliak deplored, slamming the West over a failure to make a difference in this regard. “The counter-action is late and every time it turns out to be too weak, encouraging opponents to take more radical actions,” he added.
“It is obvious that Ukraine will not see the allies open a ‘second front’,” the adviser noted, without elaborating. However, he suggested that Ukraine “can count on at least the tightening of trade sanctions,” recalling that Russia and Iran are dependent on energy exports, while other nations heavily rely on imports.
“This battle can be won without firing a single shot. What exactly are we waiting for?” Podoliak asked.
Russia, Iran, and North Korea have all found themselves under severe Western sanctions. However, Moscow and Tehran have been able to continue exporting energy, with China being one of their main buyers. North Korea, on the other hand, relies heavily on trade with Beijing.
Podoliak’s comments come as Zelensky has been trying in recent weeks to persuade NATO to help Kiev shoot down Russian missiles, an idea that has so far been rejected by the West. The Ukrainian leader has also been trying to get permission to use foreign-made long-range weapons for strikes deep into Russia, also without much success.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that such approval would make NATO a direct party to the conflict, as he says Kiev lacks the technical know-how to carry out such strikes on its own. He has also ordered the country’s nuclear strategy to be updated to treat “aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear state” as a “joint attack.” The new doctrine would consider this crossing the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons.
