You know that things have reached the final stage when rabidly russophobic, Zionist, Atlanticist German mainstream media is starting to admit the “unspeakable”.

Lots of cope still, lots of calling Russia “paranoid” and trying to soften the blow for the audience by claiming absurdly inflated Russian losses, by pretending like Russia’s economy is weak, like the sanctions were not just a shot in Europe’s own foot… all the usual self-soothing mantras to coddle the emotionally fragile Western audience that has been fed for years the fairy tale of “Russia is losing, Russia is about to collapse”, and who are now forced to experience the harsh cognitive dissonance of the propaganda crashing against reality, but the main takeaway is summed up in the introduction:

Ukraine will lose the war against Russia – Europeans must admit this, even if it hurts. The only remaining goal is to prevent the worst.

Of course they still fantasize about “getting a good deal” out of all this, they still harbor the delusion that this could somehow end in anything but a total Russian victory, so we’re somewhere in between the bargaining and acceptance stages of grief, but getting closer and closer to acceptance, as the clearly depressed tone of this article shows:

It’s time to face the facts – soberly, ruthlessly, painfully. Ukraine will lose the war against Russia. The country is locked in a war of attrition against the Russian aggressor, which is slowly but surely eroding its strength.

Wars of attrition can be won. Victory goes to the one who lasts the longest. They must succeed in constantly deploying new soldiers and weapons to the front. Russia has enough men and equipment, even though its losses are estimated to be in the millions¹. Ukraine lacks this capability – militarily, socially, and financially. And this despite the Europeans’ earnest efforts to support Kiev.

¹Wishful thinking

Since the end of 2024, the United States has refused to make further aid commitments to Ukraine. From 2022 to 2024, annual military aid amounted to €41.6 billion. According to figures from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, only €32.5 billion in military aid was provided in 2025. Moreover, Kiev is threatened with state bankruptcy. Over almost four years, the Europeans have provided €20 billion in bilateral economic aid. According to the International Monetary Fund, this is a third of what Ukraine needs to maintain its statehood. The new €90 billion EU loan will give Kiev some breathing room for a while. But what happens after that?

Putin coldly observes Europe’s weakness.

The war will not end afterward. Russia will continue to fight, no matter how much the Europeans revel in the echo of their own actions. One might consider it laughable and absurd (and it is!)², but Moscow sees its war of aggression against Ukraine as a fight for its own survival. It feels surrounded by NATO, sees itself in a stranglehold due to the eastward expansion of the Atlantic Alliance, and will not be deterred from advancing—if necessary, only meter by meter, year after year. And so it will remain. Psychiatrists know: You can explain to paranoia patients, as kindly and rationally as you like, that their fears are an illusion. They will not abandon their delusion, no matter how much they themselves suffer from it.³

²Not. NATO and EU leaders openly declare their intent to “inflict a strategic defeat on Russia”. European politicians regularly fantasize about balkanizing Russia and plundering its resources.

³Like the European delusion that Russia can be defeated? Like the European paranoia that Russia is going to roll its tanks into Berlin and Paris?

Russia is in bad shape, no question. The economic sanctions are having an effect.⁴ They are causing considerable damage to the country. But: Anyone who truly believes their life is in danger doesn’t care at that moment how much money they’re in the red. Things may continue to go downhill for the military giant and economic dwarf⁵ Russia, but Kremlin leader Putin will remain unmoved.

⁴More wishful thinking. The main effect the sanctions are having is to destroy European economies.

⁵Fourth largest economy in the world by PPP

Putin despises Europe and the European Union.⁶ Unlike love, hatred sharpens one’s focus on the other. With icy coldness, Putin observes that Europe’s military capabilities are currently third-rate, its strength lying, at best, in believing its own slogans. He takes a sober view of the discord within the EU. When it comes to Ukraine and Russia, not only Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia are unreliable partners, but also Spain and Portugal. France, in turn, has stumbled economically and is hardly in a position to offer further assistance. At the same time, the Kremlin leader is watching the man in the White House. He knows: Donald Trump wants peace – if necessary, at the expense of Ukraine. He will do little or nothing to help Kiev in this Russian-Ukrainian war of attrition.

⁶Lol. Putin is unfortunately an incurable Europhile. It’s one of his biggest flaws. He practically begged to be accepted into the NATO club. Even now he continues to leave the door open for Europe to come to its senses. He loves Europe more than European leaders themselves do.

In short, time is running out for Ukraine, and for the Europeans as well. There is only one glimmer of hope: Vladimir Putin knows he is too weak to maintain control over Ukraine in its entirety and in the long term. An occupation of the entire country would transform the western parts into a zone of guerrilla warfare⁷, and hundreds of thousands of young people would flee westward, further burdening the already impoverished Russian state with this “brain drain”—costs the Kremlin cannot sustain indefinitely. This fact may be an argument in negotiations to prevent the worst.

⁷Highly doubt it. After the war ends Ukraine will be in shambles, it will be completely exhausted.

Will the West be weakened at the end of the war? Yes, it will. Regrettably! Its credibility would be damaged. Moreover, another factor exacerbates the situation: The United States under Donald Trump will undermine NATO—Putin likes this—no matter how many somersaults NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte may perform in the Oval Office. Although, contrary to their occasional threats, the Americans will never leave Europe.⁸ They need bases to be able to operate quickly in the Middle East. But they will allow the Europeans to atrophy within NATO. It is high time that at least a core Europe not only considers this possibility but also deals with it practically.

⁸Just because you wish that really hard to be true doesn’t mean it actually will be.

Things are going to get uncomfortable next year. The facts are distressing—especially so close to Christmas. But as Thomas Mann wrote, “In the long run, a harmful truth is better than a useful lie.”