Indeed, even as the United States rushes in military supplies ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, there’s no denying that, at this stage, Ukraine is on the back foot. And though the assistance from President Joe Biden’s administration has been marked by constant caution and delay, often resulting in “too little, too late,” the new administration could be even worse.
Hence, this needs to be a wake-up call for the European Union, a warning that it must step up to protect its own interests — no matter what the U.S. decides to do.
For many, after almost three years of war, it’s now finally sinking in that it’s hard to see how exactly Kyiv can liberate all the occupied territories in the short term. Russia’s ability to generate forces with the aid of Iran, North Korea and China is outpacing what Ukraine and its partners can — or are willing to — match, and brutal aggression is winning the day.
Furthermore, from the West’s perspective, the conflict’s end goal has changed from Ukraine winning the war to preserving an independent Ukraine.
However, recent experience clearly shows that simply coming to a cease-fire agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t bring peace. After all, a cease-fire had been obtained following 2014’s illegal occupation and annexation of Crimea and the ensuing war in Donbas, but Russia simply used it to ramp up its forces and stage a full-force invasion in 2022.
A cease-fire in the near term would be difficult to attain in any case, as there’s no indication that Russia is interested in negotiations.