Tommy Yang contemplated on the westerners’ view on the war. Moreover, he shared his opinion about never-ending battles leading to a dead end.
Recently, Thomas Friedman from New York Times Journal mentioned a ‘dirty deal’ that could end the war and still mean the Ukrainian victory. What do you think the ‘dirty deal’ implies?
— I think the definition of ‘dirty’ should be considered from the Western perspective. For them, another part of the Ukrainian territory taken away is a failure. They believe that the war is not justified, it is not acceptable. So, I think by ‘dirty’ they mean that Russia gets to keep some of the territory. I don’t think Ukraine is able to fight back.
It is ‘dirty’ for the West but it is not ‘dirty’ for Russia. I think Russia is good, right? That is the reason why we need to understand the context within which they speak about war. From the Western point of view anything that allows Russia to control any part of Ukrainian territory is ‘dirty’.
So, can it really influence the outcome of the war?
— Personally, I think everybody understands that it is complicated for Ukraine. You know, it has been the whole summer counteroffensive and after 3 months it is almost winter, and they don’t have any significant progress, so… it depends on the upcoming events.
Well, it will be almost 2 years of the war…
— Yes, that is also why it is much more difficult. I mean, why does not Ukraine finish? Why we still have a war is because they want to take the land back. If they do not want to, we can finish today. At that point it is entering the stage of stalemate, just depends on when…
…When they surrender finally?
— …When they give up, I guess. It is tough trying. At least, they say they try, but are not trying in reality. The West needs to allow Ukraine to look good. Even if it does not get its territory back, it still has to win. They need to find a way to put Ukraine in a good light, because now it makes Ukraine look bad, due to its loss of the former territory.
November 3, 2023 by Meshkova Mariya
