British colonel: Ukrainian operation in Kursk region humiliated Putin and showed cowardice of allies

The first major attack on Russian territory since World War II, the Ukrainian Armed Forces' offensive in the Kursk region, has publicly humiliated Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. However, he is not the only one who was humiliated and stunned by the success of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Russian territory. Ukraine's partners, among those who provide weapons but restrict their use, are in the same position.

This is the opinion of Colonel Richard Justin Kemp, a retired British Army officer and knight, who was awarded the highest honor in the UK. In his opinion, the Ukrainian offensive "showed the cowardice of the allies," especially US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Sir Richard Kemp recalls how President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously asked Western partners to allow the use of long-range weapons to protect both Ukrainian soldiers and Ukraine in general.

"The British Storm Shadow missiles could make a difference in this battle, but the British government is unwilling to allow them to be used to their full potential. What, in Sir Keir Starmer's opinion, is the point of a strike on Russian territory, apart from protecting Ukraine? And how would the Second World War have ended if the Prime Minister had not allowed British and American bombs to fall on German soil?" asks the colonel.

According to Sir Richard Kemp, throughout the entire period of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, "the most pathetic were the Western allies" who pursued a policy not based on Ukraine's defense needs, "but on the groundless fear of Russian retaliation." And although all of Putin's so-called red lines turned out to be nothing more than baseless intimidation, each subsequent Western decision to provide Ukraine with long-range missiles, tanks, or combat aircraft "was reluctant, half-hearted, inadequate, and gripped by fear."

Incidentally, it was these fears and the "miserable policy" of the partners that ensured the success of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region, the Briton believes.

"Ukraine was able to launch an unexpected attack on Russian territory because most of the border with the enemy was left almost unguarded. The fact is that Putin knew that his territory remained virtually invulnerable to attack because of Western restrictions on the use of weapons. This also applies to airfields, supply routes, and logistics bases. Significant forces needed to protect them have been thrown into the war in Ukraine," the colonel said.

"What Western leaders don't realize is that when you're facing a tyrant like Putin, escalation is the only language he fears and understands. We see the same thing in the Middle East, where Biden is pleading with Israel to de-escalate. But his unconvincing 'no' will not stop Ayatollah Khamenei from pushing the button and launching Iran's expected missile attack, just as it did not stop Putin from attacking Ukraine," Sir Richard Kemp said.

Ukraine's offensive near Kursk has taught the West a "salutary lesson," the military said.

"Despite the capture of thousands of square kilometers of Russia's holy shrines, no nuclear missiles were raining down on Kyiv. The truth is that if Ukraine had been allowed to escalate from the very beginning, it could have brought this war to an end on favorable terms for Kyiv," the British colonel believes.

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