The Estonian Defence Minister Admitted That The Russian Armed Forces Remain Strong

By Andrew Korybko

In the face of NATO’s inevitable reduction of armed support to Kiev as suggested by the New York Times’ latest report, which came a day before the Estonian Defence Minister admitted that the Russian military remains strong in spite of this proxy war, it makes perfect sense for all sides to secure their gains at this point in time.

Estonia is among the most Russophobic states on the planet, both in the political sense of always opposing that neighbouring government as well as the ethno-bigoted one of openly discriminating against its nationals. It’s also one of NATO’s so-called “front line” states for militarily containing Russia so nobody could even remotely accuse its leadership of being biased in favour of the Kremlin. This background explains why the Estonian Defence Minister’s latest admission is so important.

According to Hanno Pevkur in comments that he shared with the US’ publicly financed and state-run “Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty” (RFE/RL) on Sunday, “We have to be honest and clear: The Russian Navy and Air Force are more or less as big as they were before the war.” This completely contradicts the basis of the weaponized information warfare narrative propagated by the US-led West’s Mainstream Media (MSM) since the start of the Ukrainian Conflict.

Although Russia’s special operation can be constructively critiqued on twenty points, none of them extend credence to that aforesaid false claim that its armed forces have been seriously weakened. Nevertheless, the MSM and its “fellow travellers” who blog in support of Kiev on social media have insisted that not only has that newly restored world power’s military been irreparably broken by NATO’s proxy war, but that it’s even supposedly on the brink of “Balkanization” because of it.

Nothing could be further from the truth as the Estonian Defence Minister himself candidly admitted, which should serve as a much-needed reality check for the US-led West’s Golden Billion. His surprisingly accurate assessment comes amidst the New York Times (NYT) report on Saturday that NATO’s limited military-industrial capacity will likely lead to inevitable reductions in armed support for Kiev, thus making it much more likely that a stalemate will eventually settle in along the Line of Control (LOC).

Russia would strategically win even in that scenario since the multipolar processes unleashed over the past nine months have made the global systemic transition away from unipolarity irreversible by this point, especially due to India’s accelerated rise as a Great Power of worldwide significance. That fait accompli and the counterproductive prolongation of this proxy war from the perspective of the US’ hegemonic interests suggests that it’s better for America to pursue a ceasefire as soon as possible.

The preceding insight doesn’t mean that the Ukrainian Conflict will soon end, but it adds context to the rumoured discussions about exploring the parameters of a series of mutual compromises among all of its participants. In the face of NATO’s inevitable reduction of armed support to Kiev against the background of the Russian military having failed to be defeated by this proxy war as the Estonian Defence Minister just acknowledged, it makes perfect sense for all sides to secure their gains at this point in time.

Whether or not that’ll happen remains to be seen, but the scenario itself can no longer be dismissed out of hand considering the NYT’s latest report and that NATO official’s admission, which curiously occurred in sequence just a day apart. This very strongly suggests that efforts are underway to reshape popular Western perceptions about this proxy war’s end game away from the maximalist fantasy that folks were brainwashed into believing and closer towards a more realistic balance of interests between all.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Voice of East.

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Categories: Analysis, Geopolitics, International Affairs

Tags: Estonia, Geopolitics, Russia, Ukraine