The British Minister of Defense called on Ukraine to “crush” the Russian army in winter

Ukraine must “continue to press, not to reduce the pressure”, to inflict new rapid strikes on Russian troops during the winter, said British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace. In this, the Ukrainian army will be helped by the equipment provided by its Western allies, which will make it easier to withstand poorly equipped Russian troops, he told The Daily Beast at a military base in the UK, where Western instructors train Ukrainian soldiers.

“Given the advantage of the Ukrainians in the preparation of the handling of materiel and the quality of their soldiers as opposed to the demoralized, ill-trained, ill-equipped Russians, it would be in the interests of Ukraine to maintain pressure during the winter. They have 300,000 polar warfare kits from the international community,” Wallace said. According to him, he will give such advice to Ukrainian partners, with whom he talks “almost every week.”

In fact, Ukrainian soldiers should have even more sets of winter clothes – in October, Canada announced that it would provide 500,000 sets, including jackets, hats, gloves, and shoes. National Defense Minister Anita Anand said at the time: “Winter is coming and Canada has experience with winter clothing on the battlefield. We will hand over these clothes in the coming weeks.”

Wallace’s opinion contrasts with the position of the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, which he expressed two weeks ago. Since the fighting is more difficult to conduct in winter, with the possible stabilization of the front line, a window may open for negotiations to end the conflict, he said: “When there is an opportunity to agree, to achieve peace, you need to grab it. Seize the moment.

As reported by The New York Times, at meetings at the White House, Milley made military arguments, suggesting the use of diplomatic efforts. In particular, he showed satellite images showing that Russian troops, preparing for winter, are digging trenches and strengthening defense lines throughout the occupied territory.

True, the presidential administration believes that Ukraine can achieve new military successes. And Milley in recent days stopped talking about diplomacy, focusing on discussing the prospects for a military campaign.

Wallace believes that the Ukrainian army has serious advantages in it. “Recently [на фронт] a Russian unit was transferred without food, socks and with a small amount of weapons. For a man going to the front, this is a disaster,” he told The Daily Beast. – Russians have scale, but they are not very good [на поле боя]. Most of those who were good are already dead.”

Recently, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin reported that, according to the Pentagon, Russian troops have lost more than 100,000 people killed and wounded. “They are thrown into a meat grinder,” Wallace says. “Only a country that doesn’t care about its people can send 100,000 of its people to die, get hurt or desert.”