While there is a heated debate in Washington about what possible funding for Ukraine should look like, it is time to consider a new strategy dictated by demographic reality — namely, the attacks by Ukrainian special services directed at Putin's energy industry.
US should encourage Ukraine's special ops against the Russian energy sector
America must support Ukrainian special operations targeting the Russian energy industry to stop Vladimir Putin's war of aggression in Europe,
Bart Marcois writes about it in The Hill.
Russia's population is three times that of Ukraine's, and Putin intends to wear his enemy down. It raises the military age to 70 to provide more zombie soldiers to ride to the front lines. The world intends to continue the war until America is bankrupt and millions of people in Russia and Ukraine are dead.
But there is a way to weaken Putin and end the war without bankrupting the American taxpayer. Instead of financing the endless production of new artillery shells, we should use the natural strength of the Ukrainian army.
Congress should fund smart asymmetric warfare, combining Ukraine's strong defense posture with a covert offensive targeting Putin's energy production and export infrastructure.
Cut Putin's income from energy
The basis of any war is money, and Putin gets money from the sale of oil and gas. The decline in American energy production has pushed up global fuel prices, while opening up international markets for supplies of Russian production. This gave Putin the excess profits he needed to finance his military adventurism.
US policy should encourage Ukrainian covert attacks aimed explicitly at damaging Putin's manufacturing and export facilities, as well as railroads (the main arteries of Russian military supply lines).
Attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure would deprive Putin of the foreign currency he needs to buy weapons and ammunition. This would undermine its ability to wage war and relieve other Ukrainian forces struggling to hold the front line.
Use of Ukrainian special forces
Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) is well equipped to carry out its mission, Marcois believes.
The New York Times recently detailed the DIU’s long-term cooperation with the CIA's special operations and intelligence gathering. They have an impressive track record of victories against strategic military and energy targets deep inside Russian territory, even while operating on a shoestring budget.
The US should focus funding on covert Ukrainian military operations targeting railroads, export terminals, and oil and gas production facilities.
Special operations produce impressive results at a fraction of the cost of traditional frontline trench warfare. Targeting Putin's energy industry — and, therefore, his cash flow — will increase the return on investment.
More recently, DIU drones sank the Russian landing ship "Caesar Kunikov" and the missile corvette "Ivanovets" in the Black Sea. In the past two years, they have scored many victories, from blowing up fighter jets to destroying a fuel mix or a rail tunnel and bypass on the only viable supply line to Russia from China and North Korea. They changed the geography of warfare by launching drones at air bases hundreds of miles inside Russia.
A threat to Putin's power
In addition to their military impact, these achievements have profound political implications. They expose the hollowness of Putin's threats to use large-scale nuclear retaliation for any attack inside Russia. These successes encouraged Ukrainian forces, while Russian commanders were demoralised and replaced.
Vladimir Putin is clearly aware of the DIU's role and tried several times to kill the DIU chief, Lt Gen Kyrylo Budanov, says Marcois.
Recently, various attempts were made on both Budanov and his wife. Russian secret forces also influence Ukrainian bureaucratic circles and necessarily use it to help political opponents of the chief of service.
Strong defensive line combined with sneak attacks
Faced with an extreme three-to-one population disadvantage, Ukraine must wage a defensive war. But Putin is winning the war of attrition on the front lines.
Combining a fortified defence with a concerted and relentless series of covert attacks on a source of Russian revenue offers the best chance of ending the war without the destruction of Ukraine. It also preserves American resources that can be spent on American needs.
As Washington counts every dollar sent to Ukraine, we must direct some of that money specifically to covert Ukrainian efforts to deprive Vladimir Putin of his income stream. We should spend our money to bankrupt Putin, not America; the expert is confident.
