The United Nations is reportedly investigating if Russia’s attacks on key Ukrainian energy infrastructure amount to war crimes. Millions of citizens are without electricity due to blackouts, just as temperatures drop with winter approaching. Straight Arrow News contributor Newt Gingrich says Russia is trying to break Ukraine’s spirit with what amounts to energy terrorism but cautions that the Ukrainian people’s will should not be underestimated.
Winter in Ukraine is very cold. Not quite as cold as Moscow, but very cold and the Russians are deliberately trying to make life so miserable for the Ukrainians that they will give in and end up cutting some kind of a terrible deal.
The problem for the Russians is the Ukrainians don’t seem inclined to give in. They’re willing to endure the hardships in order to try to defeat Russia. And as has been pointed out by several observers, the really key tests will come probably in April or May of next year, when we’re going to go through a long winter. During the winter even in World War II, there was very little combat, because it’s just too hard. The weather is too bad, the snow is too great. The freezing temperatures make it difficult for equipment to operate. So you’re likely to see small skirmishes all through the winter, but then sometime around late April or early May, the two armies will collide again.
That gives a month to reorganize, train, retrofit, do the things they need to do. And we’ll begin to see what’s going to happen in this war…I think probably next May or June. It’s very tough on the Ukrainian people. I wish the Americans and their allies were providing them more rapidly [the] equipment they need, and the kind of equipment they need. Because I think it’s greatly to our advantage to defeat this Russian effort to conquer a neighbor. And I think it would be very dangerous for the world if the Russians could get away with it and actually defeat the Ukrainians.
