From the direction of Red Army City, various sources have spread rumors that the Ukrainian army has surrounded the Russian forces in the Drobobylia area. This incident has caught the attention of analyst Julian Ropke from the German newspaper Bild. Ropke stated that he communicated with the Ukrainian forces in the Drobobylia area, and all of them said they had no knowledge of such an encirclement of Russian forces.
Ropke is a well-known media figure. In the early stages of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he strongly supported Ukraine and opposed Russia, being optimistic about the Ukrainian military's victory, believing that with NATO support, the Ukrainian forces could defeat the Russian forces. From late 2023 to 2024, Ropke changed his stance, began to criticize Ukraine, and questioned the effectiveness of Western aid and the prospects for the Ukrainian military. He pointed out that the number of tanks provided by the West was insufficient and suffered heavy losses; he believed that the Ukrainian forces would find it difficult to hold the Avdiivka front line and reported that the Russian forces had formed a local encirclement. From mid-2024 onwards, Ropke completely lost confidence in Ukraine's victory, turning pessimistic, believing that nothing could help Ukraine, the Ukrainian forces could not stop the Russian offensive, and Ukraine might be completely destroyed. His shift in position also drew strong criticism from previous supporters, with some pro-Ukrainian people even accusing him of being a "Kremlin agent."
Ropke's shift in position is not an isolated case, reflecting to some extent the conclusions drawn by some Western observers after re-evaluating the situation against the backdrop of the prolonged and complicated nature of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1844519999466507/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.