Things have not been the same on the international scene since Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel a little over a month ago. It jolted Israel into “war mode.”
With headlines on the Middle East war splattered dominantly across news channels, a seeming shroud has been placed on the war in Ukraine, obscuring the world’s attention on the conflict.
Unlike 2022, when morale was high despite power outages, disrupted water service and blackouts, the Israel-Hamas war has taken the spotlight off Ukraine, resulting in a halt or slowed international support.
The frustration of the slow counteroffensive and shortages of sophisticated weapons looms large over the warring European country.
After dominating summit after summit since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, now attention to Ukraine has lost its lustre. The country is struggling to grab the attention as it had before, as well as the political, economic and military aid that Ukraine wants.
For instance, at the EU summit held in October, the Ukrainian President addressed the opening session and that was it.
Immediately after his address, EU leaders switched to the Israel-Hamas war. They did not return to the issue of Russia’s war in Ukraine until the summit’s closing day.
It is feared that a combination of global fatigue, competing political agendas and limited resources will result in less aid for Ukraine’s military, hurting the country’s ability to sustain its confrontation with Russia.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged the fatigue in an interview earlier in November, saying, “Yes. A lot of people, of course, in the world are tired.”
Even though, the EU promised to be with Ukraine “as long as it takes,” divisions over Ukraine have also emerged in the bloc, with German Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius saying that the EU cannot supply all the ammunitions it promised.
Other high-level global meetings now tend to focus on the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
International bodies are spread thin, dealing with both wars.
Medicinal Lies Or Factual Truth?
United States President Joe Biden has made a point of linking U.S. support for Israel and Ukraine, saying both are vital for national security.
U.S is also a staunch ally of Israel, and has voiced support for Israel’s right to defend itself.
Biden’s secretary of transportation, Pete Buttigieg, paid an official visit to Ukraine on November 8 to show that the U.S. commitment has not wavered.
“The fact that I am here is one way to demonstrate that, in addition to the great concern and attention that we have toward what is going on in the Middle East, we have as much attention, focus and commitment as we have ever had right here to Ukraine,” he said, standing outside of St. Michael’s Church in Kyiv.
Meanwhile, additional U.S. funding for Ukraine is jeopardized by political fights in Washington, where the new war consumes attention at the highest levels.
Is U.S providing just momentary assurance for Ukraine or it will actualise its promise?
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