Ukraine and Israel both share at least one thing in common — they are desperate and flailing about trying to get the United States directly involved in their respective wars. Ukraine is being steadily pushed out of the Donbass and Kursk, and suffering terrible losses in the process, and its leaders, with Zelensky leading the charge, are trying to pursue a course of action that will bring the United States and NATO directly into the fighting. In other words, provoke Russia to expand its operations by attacking NATO targets in retaliation for NATO assistance in hitting Russian territory with so-called “long-range missiles.”
Israel, for its part, has failed to eradicate Hamas after 11 months of fighting, its economy is in shambles — thanks in part to the Houthis shutting down port activities in Eilat — and it has been unable to stop Hezbollah’s attacks on northern Israel. Israel, like Ukraine, has embarked on a strategy of provocation — i.e., hit Iranian and Hezbollah targets and hope that they will take retaliatory measures that will create political pressure in the United States to intervene and fight alongside Israel.
So far, neither Russia nor Hezbollah/Iran have taken the bait. Let’s start with Russia. The strategic picture on the ground all along the battle front in Ukraine has shifted decisively in Russia’s favor. Ukrainian forces are trapped in Kursk and are in the clutches of a Russian military boa constrictor. The Ukrainians are isolated, low on ammunition and food, and have no secure means of resupply. Meanwhile, in the Donbass, the noose is tightening as well. The Russian military announced today that it is destroying all rail and bridge links to Pokrovsk aka Krasnoarmeysk, which will leave Ukrainian troops without a reliable means of resupply. Hence the desperation of Zelensky and his crew.