Judging Freedom - In Ukraine - Will Russia Begin Their Offensive? w/Scott Ritter fmr UN Weapons Inspector & Marine

Episode Date: September 7, 2023

In Ukraine - Will Russia Begin Their Offensive? w/Scott Ritter fmr UN Weapons Inspector & MarineSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Thank you. Hi, everyone. Joe Gingrich, Napolitano here with Judging Freedom. Today is Thursday, September 7th, 2023. The intrepid Scott Ritter returns to our cameras and microphones. Scott, always a pleasure. Thank you for joining us. I think you recently made the observation that you are beginning to see cracks in the cohesion of the Ukrainian military, which of course, if your observation is correct, is very, very bad for the Ukraine and for the West. But what causes you to come to that conclusion?

Well, I mean, the critical factor for the Ukrainians, as in any military, is their ability to maintain a consistent line or presence on the line of contact. So you need troops who are trained, equipped, prepared to occupy positions that can tie into the left and to the right so that there is a solid line of control, span of control over this line of contact with the Russians. But as this war has progressed, Ukraine has taken casually after casually after casually, and they have run out of units to maintain this. And so what you're starting to see is, especially since a great deal of effort has been put into the ongoing counteroffensive near the village of Robitino in Zaporizhia, that units have been pulled out of the northern area in the area of Kupyansk. And so there are gaps there. And the Russians are starting to exploit those

gaps. And as that happens, the Ukrainians have to pull troops out of other places. And it just becomes basically robbing Peter to pay Paul. But eventually, there's nothing left to rob. And these gaps are going to come bigger and bigger and bigger. And you're going to see the Russians being able to just sustain the pressure and push the Ukrainians back. And so that's what I'm talking about. Are decisions like this being made by Ukrainian senior military command or by NATO officers? Well, I mean, ultimately, the chain of command is a Ukrainian chain of command. So, of course, the brigade commanders aren't going to respond to orders from NATO. But the Ukrainian commanders receive their instructions from their civilian authority,

the president, defense minister, and they're being pressured by NATO. So there's a lot of pressure being put on Ukraine to maintain this offensive in Robitin. Look, it's a disastrous offensive. It has failed. It is causing them tens of thousands of casualties. Hundreds of tanks and armored fighting vehicles have been destroyed. It's destroying their ability to remain as a viable combat force on the field. And yet they're being pressured by NATO to continue this attack. I only know of two sources which claim that the Ukrainians have breached, breached, not just approached, but breached the first of the three Russian defensive lines. One is the Wall Street Journal, which based its reporting, continued and repeated reporting, on one source. The other is our friend Matt Van Dyke, who I interviewed this morning. We'll play some of what he said for you in a minute. Are you still confident in your conclusion that no matter what kind of a news blackout the Ukrainians have imposed on the state of battle, from your sources, you are comfortable in saying that the Ukrainians

have not breached and not even approached the first of those three rings of Russian defenses. Well, we're talking about when you speak about the first defensive line, we're talking about a string of concrete barriers called dragon's teeth. They're basically giant concrete blocks that are designed to impede the movement of armored fighting vehicles and tanks. And I'm confident that the Ukrainians have not put a tank across the dragon's teeth. But let's be very clear here. The way the Russians built this defense, according to the doctrine of the man who wrote it, that is Lieutenant General Alexander Romanchuk, the Ukrainians were supposed to, according to the doctrine of the man who wrote it uh that is lieutenant general alexander a roman chuck the ukrainians were supposed to according to the russians the way the russians planned this

they were supposed to have pushed to robatino taken the village been compelled by the high ground to pivot to the right and move towards the village of uh verbo noyo which would cry require them to close with the first line of defense the dragon's teeth breach the first line of defense and head to the second line of defense this is what the russians envisioned happening and it should have happened within the first month of the counter-offensive so you know so first of all whatever the ukrainians are doing right now is happening because the russians want it to happen this is the defensive second of all, whatever the Ukrainians are doing right now is happening because the Russians want it to happen. This is the defensive. Second of all, we are now in September and I'm not, you know, my math isn't great, but let's say June, July, August, September.

We're into the fourth month of this counteroffensive and they're now only beginning to accomplish what the Russians thought they should have accomplished at the end of the first month. They are behind schedule. They've run out of troops run out of equipment this is not a success i don't care how you spin it russian defense is always based upon mobile defense and flexible defense they're not going to create recreate the alamo and uh so when the russians pull back let the ukrainians come in and kill the ukrainians that's what the plan's been all along. But I will tell you this, there are no tanks beyond the dragon's teeth

because the Ukrainians have put some reconnaissance troops across this concrete barrier, got across, taken a selfie, and then come back. Sure, that's not control of territory. The Ukrainians have not breached the first line of defense. That's absolute certainty. What is the view in the American military of an American civilian who joins a foreign military? I'm speaking of Matt Van Dyke whom we interviewed this morning who appeared on air in a Ukraine,

born in the U.S., very much American, appeared on air in a Ukraine military uniform and was preparing for battle. We agreed not to reveal where he was when we interviewed him, and we stuck by that agreement. Look, with very few exceptions, and those exceptions I think would be Israel, would be the United Kingdom, maybe Canada, Australia, but again, just a handful of nations. Generally speaking, when you as an American citizen go to a foreign country and take an oath of allegiance to that country, which you have to do to become a member of their armed forces, you must swear allegiance. Your commander in chief is no longer the president of the United States. It's the authority, the executive authority of that nation. You've betrayed your nation. What should happen by law is your citizenship should be revoked. You should lose your American

passport and your citizenship should revoke because you're no longer functioning as an American citizen. Now, I know the United States has turned a blind eye to volunteers going over there fighting in volunteer units, et cetera. But to put on a uniform, to wear the Ukrainian flag, to take an oath to Ukraine, you're basically saying you're not an American anymore. And that's the view of me and a view of a whole bunch of people that I used to serve with. Your oath is to the Constitution of the United States of America.

Your allegiance is to the United States of America. That's it. When you put on the uniform of another country, you ain't an American anymore. Watch Matt Van Dyke's answer when I asked him if he is prepared to die for Ukraine. Are you willing to give your life for the Ukraine cause, Matthew Van Dyke? Yes, I'm willing to give my life for the Ukraine cause, Matthew Van Dyke? Yes, I'm going to give my life for the cause of liberty. That's for Ukraine and for anybody else that's fighting an aggressor or fighting for liberty in an oppressive state. I wouldn't have signed up if I wasn't willing to make that sacrifice.

What would you say to him having heard that? Well, you're not fighting for liberty, Matthew. You're not as an American. Don't equate a government that idolizes Stefan Bandera and the odious ideology of banderism, which is a direct link to Nazi Germany, response for the deaths of tens of thousands of Jews, hundreds of thousands of Poles. It's a butcherous history that Ukraine is building its modern identity on, and you're fighting in defense of that? You're a disgrace to America. You're a disgrace to the cause of liberty. You disgust me. Well, I don't wish you harm. Let me put it this way, Matt, and I'll be as blunt as possible. You want to die for Ukraine? The

Russians are going to give you every opportunity to accomplish your task. I asked him if Ukraine has the ability to resist Russia without Western aid. His answer surprised me. Without the United States, the Ukrainians have no ability whatsoever to resist the Russians. Agree or disagree? I agree that without American and Western support, there's no ability to really liberate the lands Russia holds. But to resist Russians, I mean, Russia invaded in 2014 initially, and Ukraine resisted since then. So it changed the nature of the conflict. It goes certainly more guerrilla than conventional. But the will to fight is still very strong here in Ukraine.

It certainly would change the course of the war and our expectations if we lost all Western support suddenly. If Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis became president, both of whom have said they'll stop the war in 24 hours, what becomes of you and your buddies? We keep fighting. But isn't it a hopeless cause without American support? Without American support, Russia would probably try to seize more territory within Ukraine and would be on the defense. We could do it, but it would definitely result in much higher casualties and prolong this conflict indefinitely. You know, like you, Scott, I don't wish them ill, but this is insane, the attitude that they have. Without American support, how long could Ukraine last?

The answer is Ukraine can't last. And I'll just draw attention to the nature of his statement. We, we. He's made common cause with Ukraine. He identifies as a Ukrainian now. So I think we need to stop talking about this guy as an American citizen, as an American who somebody shares our values. He has gone over to the other side. That's his choice. He has the right to do that. But he's not an American anymore. He's not defending America. He's fighting for another country. And I have to say that that country stands for something in its current formulation that is despicable. But because the neocons that run the American foreign policy establishment, he's not going to be prosecuted. It's not like he went over to the Taliban during the Afghan war. Theoretically, he's gone over to another country, but it's a country that's a vassal state of the United States of America at the present time.

Well, we'll see how things stand. As you've indicated, Judge, there's an election coming up and there may be a sea change in the attitude of the executive. And as the attitude of the executive goes, so does the willingness of the judiciary to enforce American laws. And let's be clear about this. Matthew Van Dyke is in violation of an entire slew of American laws. And when he comes back,

he should be arrested and prosecuted and put in prison for a very long time. Resolve to earn your degree in the new year in the Bay with WGU. With courses available online 24-7 and monthly start dates, WGU offers maximum flexibility so you can focus on your future. Learn more at wgu.edu. Here's Secretary of State Blinken. This is either yesterday or today. I think it's today, arguing that the Ukraine military has made,

hard for me to say this, Scott, real offensive progress. In the years since I was last here, Ukraine has taken back more than 50% of the territory that Russia has seized from it since February of 2022. In the current counteroffensive, we are seeing real progress over the last few weeks. As it happens, President Zelensky just returned from the front lines. So I was able to hear directly from him his assessment of the counteroffensive. And I think it very much matches our own, which is, as I said, real progress in recent weeks. That was yesterday. Well, first of all, it just exposes just how empty of a suit

Tony Blinken is. Notice what he said. First of all, he says they've recaptured 50% of the territory. First of all, this counteroffensive hasn't done that. The 50% that he's talking about consists of territory that, A, Russia voluntarily withdrew from in March of 2022 around Kiev, Sumy, elsewhere elsewhere and the territory that the ukrainians were able to retake in their counter offensive of the fall of 2022. but the current counter offensive which united states has invested everything into has made very little progress and zielinski didn't go to the front lines he went close to the front lines he had a you know a grip and grin greeting with some soldiers, and then he came

back. He can't report on the reality of the front line. If Tony Blinken wants to go to the front line, he can go. I invite him to go to Robitino, where he claims these successes are. He'll die. I invite him to take a trip up to the right, go to Verbino. He'll die. He can go near Bakhmut. He'll die. Blinken gets anywhere near the front line. He'll die because that's what happens to Ukrainian soldiers who get near the front line. They die. The fact that Matthew Van Dyke is still alive tells me speaks volumes. He hasn't been anywhere near the front line. If he gets near the front line, he's a dead man because that's the fate of Ukrainian soldiers that seek to close with and engage with russian troops in this current battlefield the ukrainians have no ability to impose their will any advances made by the ukrainians are because they are walking into a trap set by the russians and the casualty figures bear this out another statement

by secretary blinken even more outrageous than the one we just showed, says that Ukraine is a force for the future and is growing stronger every day. You've got to take this with a grain of salt, but here's what he said. It's critically important that we and many other countries that have agreed to do the same help Ukraine build a force for the future, a military force for the future that is capable of deterring future aggression and, if necessary, defending and defeating it. We now have 29 countries that have signed on to a declaration issued by the G7 at the end of the NATO summit that is focused on doing just that, helping Ukraine build this

force future. We need President Putin to understand that he cannot outlast Ukraine, he cannot outlast Ukraine's supporters, that Ukraine is actually going to grow stronger and even more effective with a military force that is world class, but also a strong and vibrant economy and a strong and vibrant democracy. This is a neocon ideology on steroids. Ukraine is going to grow stronger and Putin is going to grow weaker. Yeah, I mean, look, he went to McDonald's and maybe the fat content in the food has caused a little disruption in his cognitive capabilities, but there's no relation to reality, anything he said there. The military he

speaks of today is in the process of a desperate final mobilization where they're sweeping up 16 year old boys and 60 year old men. This is the equivalent of what Nazi Germany did in its final months where they created the Volkssturm, People's Army. They brought in the young kids, the old men. They gave them very little training. They sent in the front lines, and the end result was universal. They were slaughtered or they surrendered. They didn't have any meaningful impact on the battlefield. This war is over. The Ukrainian force that you're talking about building is finished. The Ukrainian army is gutted. So is the Ukrainian economy. Blinken is basically presiding over the death of a nation. And if he continues to live in this fantasy land that he's occupied,

that is the ultimate result for Ukraine. This nation is being destroyed. It's being destroyed because the United States doesn't have the courage to confront reality. You know, he says that Putin can't outlast. Well, here's another news tip, Tony Blinken. Putin outlasted Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and he'll outlast Joe Biden, he'll outlast you. The Americans have not been able to come up with a solution to their Putin problem. Putin is prevailing. He's going to win in Ukraine. And he's going to outlast

Joe Biden. He'll outlast whatever president comes after Joe Biden, because in the case of Ukraine, especially, Russia's on the right side of history. America is not. It shames me an American to say that. Why was the Ukrainian defense minister sacked at such a critical time in the war because he's one of the singularly most corrupt individuals in all of Ukraine he's been stealing tens of millions of dollars you know from the aid that is read according to Seymour Hirst the number may be as high as four hundred million dollars that he's stolen you know one of the things he's done is he manages the food

contracts. Look at the quality of the food that the Ukrainians get. Somebody opened up one of the packets. It's basically three bags of crackers and a little tin of cheese. That's it. That's what a Ukrainian soldier gets is his ration pack. The Russians, on the other hand, get, you know, meat, cheese, everything, all that kind of stuff stuff this is because he took money that's supposed to give the ukraine's an equivalent ration pack that of the russians but he pocketed that money and he gives him garbage he's a corrupt individual uh instead of instead they're sending him off to be the ambassador of the united kingdom where he'll continue the corruption continue the practice of enriching himself um and never pay a price but this is a man who literally should be arrested, tried,

and given the ultimate punishment for betraying the Ukrainian military. He is responsible for these deaths that are taking place. And he should be condemned by everybody, especially the United States, where we're supposed to be against corruption. We're supposed to be against this sort of thing. But willingly allow. William Burns flew to Ukraine. That's right. To tell the president, he didn't say stop the corruption. He just said, don't steal so much. You're stealing so much that we can't ignore it.

Don't take 400 million. Try taking only 200 million. I mean, this brings us back to the effort by Congressman Thomas Massey in the House and Senator Rand Paul in the Senate to install an inspector general, which means a full team of people watching and monitoring equipment and cash as it's arriving in Ukraine. Neither of those proposals, which were identical, were permitted to come to the floor of the House or the Senate for a vote. Standing next to Tony Blinken when he made those comments, we don't have the clip, was the Ukrainian foreign minister who said in English shortly after Secretary Blinken spoke, criticizing the slow pace of the counteroffensive is tantamount to spitting in the face of Ukraine soldiers. I'm beginning to think that he said that for domestic political consumption,

because there must be domestic political recognition of the fact that the offensive has failed. There's no doubt about that, but he's also saying it for the benefit of Western reporters, because he's seen more and more Western reporters from the United Kingdom, from the United States, from Germany, people who have a solid track record of regurgitating Ukrainian propaganda points, and they can no longer remain silent about the reality of the battlefield. And so these reporters are starting to report accurately, or at least more accurately, about how difficult things are. And he's offended by this because truth hurts, especially when you're the one responsible for trying to cover up the truth with a bodyguard of lies. And that's been Kuleba's job as the chief diplomat of Ukraine, to lie on behalf of Zelensky

and the defense minister and everybody else. And let's just remember too, he is a corrupt individual as well. He enriches himself with U.S. taxpayer dollars. And I will also, one last observation here, for every American veteran out there, whether you're a veteran of Vietnam, Korea prior to that, few surviving World War II veterans, the Gulf War veterans, the Desert Storm, or the veterans of the global war on terrorism. Understand this, your care sucks because the repeated administrations have failed to fund the VA adequately. You've paid a price because America has decided you're not worthy of the investment. But while you suffer, understand this,

Tony Blinken just promised to provide the Ukrainian government with adequate funding to give adequate support to their veterans. So we're willing to take care of Ukrainians who have been injured in the line of duty supporting Ukraine, but we're turning our backs again and again and again on American veterans, and that disgusts me as well. Thank you, Scott. No matter how bad the news is, thank you for your clarity and your insight and your courage.

Much appreciated. Thank you. Well, if you like what you saw, and I suspect you do, like, subscribe, tell a friend, help us spread the word. Our goal is 250,000 subscriptions by Christmastime. We're knocking on the door of 200,000, so we'll get there. Professor Jeffrey Sachs, an expert on how all this started and how we got to where we are at four o'clock today, Eastern. Judge Napolitano for Judging Freedom. We'll see you next time. that specializes in personalized learning. With courses available 24-7 and monthly start dates, you can earn your degree on your schedule. You may even be able to graduate sooner than you think by demonstrating mastery of the material you know.

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