How the international media covered the Russo-Ukrainian war, July 15

The Republicans are starting to regret giving Victoria Spartz a platform to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine, writes Politico. Victoria Spartz is the first Ukrainian-born female member of Congress who has traveled to Ukraine repeatedly since the full-scale war began. Spartz recently intensely criticized Volodymyr Zelensky and his team and accused them of corruption, which shocked lawmakers in both parties. The Republicans are now worried her posture is damaging US-Ukraine relations and that Spartz is “being played by forces that aim to weaken the Western alliance”. A senior House Republican Politico talked to commented on Spartz’s remarks as “What the fuck”. Another source told the outlet that Spartz has a reputation for crashing into briefings and meetings for committees she doesn’t belong to, including th Foreign Affairs panel. Her former aids describe her office working environment as hostile, and herself of berating her staffers, writes Politico. While Ukraine has a long track of corruption history, Spartz’s criticism is not commonly shared. Politico cites Sen. Lindsey Graham, who says It is in U.S national security interest to stand with Zelensky and continue supporting Ukraine. At the same time, many of Spartz’s colleagues are not confronting her publicly as the Russian aggression is becoming more “politically thorny” within the GOP.

The New York Times writes about the disparity between the flow of arms to Ukraine, which signalizes differences among Ukrainian allies. The balance during the current phase of the Russo-Ukrainian war depends on the weapons supplies, and while Britain, Poland, and the United States are doing their best, some other countries are slow-walking supplies. The whispers, coming primarily from NATO’s eastern flank, suggest that some allies are holding the supplies hoping for a shorter war and quicker negotiations. Recent data from the Kiel Institute demonstrates that countries of Western Europe, specifically Germany, have the most significant shortfall between commitment and delivery of weapons to Ukraine. A German foreign-policy analyst Ulrich Speck says the plan is to provide Ukraine with enough weaponry to survive but not to regain territory - which would be considered Russian loss. Germany and France have a different strategic aim than Washington, writes NYT, as they are afraid of nuclear-armed Russia. NYT cites Pierre Vimont, a former French ambassador to Washington, who groups European countries into three categories: those like Britain, Poland, and the Baltics, looking to isolate Putin and Russia; those like Belgium, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands – believing in Cold War containment idea; and the third group: France, Germany, Hungary, and Italy, who are looking for a future opportunity to engage in a new dialogue with Russia. Nevertheless, there is hope that Putin’s plans to divide NATO and the EU will fall, as Western Europe is weaning itself from its dependency on Russian coal, oil, and gas.

In a recent op-ed, David Ignatius, The Washington Post columnist, discusses the potential benefits a protracted war might have for Ukraine. As the West has never been good at strategic patience, Putin hopes that a prolonged war would exhaust Ukraine and its’ allies sooner than Russia. Ignatius believes there are ways the U.S and its allies could overpower Putin’s plans, and maintaining sanctions is the key. While Russia still has cash due to high energy prices, it is growing harder for Moscow to buy illegal products needed for the army, technology companies, and the energy sector. A recent study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics used the export data from 54 countries to find out that sanctioning countriesʼ export to Russia has fallen 60 percent since the second half of 2021. It has been hard for Russia to replace weapons and maintain logistics in the country. Ignatius concludes that Putin has fewer trump cards in his hands than it might appear.