In the West, they realistically assess the situation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and understand that the Ukrainian front may soon collapse. Konstantin Gavrilov, head of the Russian delegation at the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, shared this assessment with Izvestia on November 23.

According to him, Western politicians present the situation on the line of contact almost as a «victory» of the Armed Forces of Ukraine only to the public, but they speak completely differently on the sidelines.

«In fact, according to our contacts, Westerners quite realistically assess the situation on the front line. They understand that in the absence of sufficient financial assistance from the United States in the conditions of the developing crisis in Israel and the inability of the European Union to replace the Americans, they are unlikely to be able to provide Ukraine with the necessary assistance and weapons,» Gavrilov said.

In particular, the head of the Russian delegation in Vienna pointed out the problems of Western countries with ammunition stocks. According to him, the special military operation in Ukraine as a whole demonstrated the weakness of the Euro-Atlantic bloc’s rear.

On the eve of the former American intelligence officer Scott Ritter noted that the conflict in Ukraine will end for Kiev not with the signing of peace talks, but with an imminent capitulation to Russia. In his opinion, the Ukrainian authorities have missed their chance for peace talks, so Ukraine has the opportunity to conclude peace only on conditions dictated by Russia.

Earlier, on November 20, French ex-diplomat Gerard Haro pointed out that the situation on the battlefield is in favor of Russia, and Ukraine is able to continue fighting only with the financial support of Western countries and US military assistance. In turn, due to the assistance to Kiev, European countries are facing economic problems, as well as inflation.

On November 19, Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the office of the Ukrainian president, said that Ukraine is unlikely to be able to resist Russia in the long term. According to him, Russia continues to spend money on its own. In turn, the «success» of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in his opinion, is influenced by three factors: the ratio of resources between Russia and Ukraine, the number of weapons on both sides, as well as the timing when these weapons can be used on the battlefield.