By GB News (World News) | Created at 2024-11-20 15:31:46 | Updated at 2024-11-20 17:29:12
2 hours ago
The West "played into Putin's hands" the moment he invaded Ukraine, a top British defence chief claims.
His damning assessment comes more than 1000 days into the war. Morale on the battlefield is sapping as winter approaches, with Ukrainian forces overstretched at key points along the 1000km frontline as Russia steadily advances.
Meanwhile, around 10,900 North Korean troops have been deployed to the Kursk region in Russia as part of airborne units and marines, with rumours that as many as 100,000 troops from Pyongyang may join the war effort.
According to intelligence from the US and South Korea, North Korean soldiers have already engaged in battles with Ukrainian forces.
President Joe Biden responded to this clear escalation by permitting Ukraine to use US-supplied long-range missiles against targets inside Russia.
On Tuesday, Moscow claimed that Ukraine had already fired six ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) ballistic missiles into Russia's Bryansk region.
Hours later, Putin formally lowered the threshold for Russia's use of nuclear weapons to include potential responses to a conventional attack that poses a critical threat to Russian sovereignty, especially if such an attack is supported by a nuclear power.
Putin has formally lowered the threshold for Russia's use of nuclear weapons
REUTERS
Could this have been avoided?
With the threat of nuclear apocalypse and no negotiations on the table, it begs the question: could all this have been avoided?
As Bell, who served 32 years in the RAF and commanded 1 (Fighter) Squadron and the Harrier Force, points out, invading a sovereign nation is a crime of aggression.
Ukraine has a right to defend itself from Putin's barbarism.
However, the West's equivocal response throughout has fanned the flames, he warns.
"One of the ironies of the situation we find ourselves in at the moment is that if the West had simply done what they should have done at the start, which is: if you're going to give weapons and support to Ukraine, give them weapons and support. As long as they use within the law of armed conflict, that should be it."
Instead, the West has prevaricated endlessly over sending weapons to Ukraine - this has tied it up in knots and allowed Putin to claim the West is escalating the war.
He explained: "By placing limitations on the use of weapons, including when they can and can't be used, it raises the profile in the media. And, of course, it makes it a lot more difficult when you want to remove those restrictions because it looks like an escalation. It plays into Putin's hands."
As Bell explains, Russia is "desperately doing everything it can to scare the West and stop it supporting Ukraine", and this mixed messaging feeds into his intimidation.
The West needed a "clear statement of intent", the retired defence chief says.
Can Trump provide that? Bell is encouraged by the incoming president's pronouncements.
Bell is encouraged by the incoming president's pronouncements on Ukraine as war of attrition sets in
Getty Images
Trump has pledged to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, although it remains unclear when and how he will do this.
Bell hopes that his clear and concise language could open the door to negotiations.
"Trump is a breath of fresh air. He's going to be scary as hell. There'll be unintended consequences," he told GB News.
The retired RAF pilot is not blind to the risks that a second Trump might pose, however.
"I worry that he's going to operate more like an autocrat than a democratic leader."
