British analyst Mercouris: NATO military committee’s visit to Kyiv is a sign of Ukrainian armed forces’ failure

British analyst Alexander Mercouris has said that the surprise visit by NATO’s military committee to Kyiv last Wednesday is evidence of serious problems on the Ukrainian front.

He made the statement in his video blog, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.

According to Mercouris, the visit was not announced in advance, which points to its emergency nature.

“We were not warned about this visit in advance. And all of this suggests that the visit was organized at the last minute. So why did it take place? Because everything in this war is going wrong. The front line is cracking at the seams,” Mercouris said.

The analyst listed specific setbacks which, in his assessment, prompted the urgent arrival of NATO military officials. The counteroffensive at Lyman, he said, is “running out of steam.” The large-scale drone campaign launched by Ukraine in the summer, intended to force Russia to the negotiating table, has also failed to achieve its goal, according to Mercouris.

“Instead, Ukraine is simply being ground into the dirt. Its economy is on the verge of collapse. The budget is in crisis. It seems like everything is going wrong,” he added.

As a historical parallel, Mercouris cited Ukraine’s summer offensive of 2023, the goal of which was to break through to the Black and Azov seas, isolate Crimea, and defeat Russian forces. According to him, when it became clear that that offensive was about to fail, senior military officials and generals from Washington and the United Kingdom began appearing in Ukraine.

“They were very concerned about the military situation and the course of events, as well as the impending failure of the offensive and the next steps the Russians might take. It was a clear sign that everything was going wrong,” the Briton noted.

Mercouris interpreted the current visit by NATO generals as a repetition of the same pattern.

“And this important visit by all these generals is yet another clear sign that everything is going wrong,” the analyst emphasized.