Russia: It's a 'Manic Idea' That Ukraine Can Win on Battlefield

Zelensky met with Biden on Wednesday in Washington

Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the U.S., criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s trip to Washington to meet President Joe Biden and address Congress as a bad joke. 

The diplomat called the former comedian’s trip an example of how the U.S. has no interest in ending the conflict, and will continue to use Ukrainian forces to carry out its own proxy war. 

RT.com. the Russian news outlet, reported that Antonov called the trip “Hollywood-style,” and confirmed that the Biden administration remains only interested in weakening Russia.

"The head of the Kiev regime's visit to Washington, staged in Hollywood style, has ultimately confirmed that the administration's conciliatory statements about the lack of intention to enter into a confrontation with Russia are an 'empty phrase,'" he said.

He blamed Washington for pushing this “manic idea of defeating the Russians on the battlefield. He said the escalation can lead to consequences “impossible to even imagine.” 

Zelensky met with President Joe Biden in Washington on Wednesday and the meeting went as expected: more money and more weapons for Ukraine, no talk about how to achieve a peaceful settlement.

When asked what a “just peace” would look like, Zelensky, stumped, said his peace would mean “no compromises as to sovereignty, freedom, and territorial intergirty of my country, the payback for all the damages inflicted by Russian aggression. “There can’t be any just peace in the war that was imposed on us by these … inhumans, I would say.”

TRENDPOST: Some analysts have noted that Ukrainian General Valery Zaluzhny could be a future alternative to Zelensky. He gave an extensive interview in the Economist last week and expressed concern that Russia is preparing for a new invasion with 200,000 “fresh troops.”

“I have no doubt they will have another go at Kyiv,” he said. 

The magazine, citing Western sources, said Sergey Surovikin, the Russian general, believes that this will be a multi-year campaign. 

Zaluzhny said Ukraine is running low on ammunition and is in dire need of Patriot missiles. He said in a recent interview that the HIMARS that the U.S. has provided are not as effective as they once were because Russian troops adapted and moved out of their range. The U.S. has been apprehensive to provide Ukraine with long-range missile systems out of fear that Ukrainian troops could fire them deep inside Russia.

Scott Ritter, the former weapons inspector, told Judge Andrew Napolitano last week that Zaluzhny could eventually replace Zelensky because he is more respected by Russia. 

Zaluzhny insisted that his forces could still defeat Russia but there is a real need for more weapons. He said Ukraine will need about 300 new tanks, 700 infantry fighting vehicles, and 500 howitzers to counter the upcoming offensive. Zaluzhny said he anticipates the upcoming offensive to occur in early 2023.

He said the attack could occur in February, “at best in March and at worst at the end of January.”

Russia has been bombing infrastructure across Ukraine and conducted one of its most significant offensives on Friday after firing more than 70 missiles into Ukraine.