Headlines out of Ukraine in recent weeks have been grim. Military officers on the front lines say that the situation in the country’s east is approaching “critical.” The country is facing a serious manpower and weapons shortage. The Russian offensive is reportedly accelerating. Privately, Biden administration officials are wondering whether — even with the latest tranche of U.S. aid secured — Ukraine will be able to win this war.
Listening to Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s speech this week in Kyiv, however, none of this reality was apparent. The tone of Blinken’s speech was optimistic — he referred to the war as a “strategic failure” for Moscow and a “strategic success” for Kyiv. He maintained that Ukraine would win the war and eventually join NATO as a thriving democracy with an economy rebuilt from seized Russian assets.
“All of these measures – Ukraine’s increased integration with, and support from, NATO; a growing network of security agreements with individual countries; a booming defense industrial base – all of these will ensure that the moment conditions are met and Allies agree, Ukraine’s invitation and accession to the Alliance will be swift and smooth,” Blinken said. “These measures will also ensure that if Russia is ever serious about negotiating a truly just and lasting peace with Ukraine, your military prowess will be formidable, your hand strong, your path to Europe and NATO secure.”
As the journalist Leonid Ragozin noted on X, “None of that is on the cards at the moment as the devastated and depopulated country is struggling to prevent a collapse on the frontline.”[…]
During his visit, Blinken also indicated that Washington was open to Ukraine using U.S. weapons to hit targets inside Russia. ”We’ve not enabled or encouraged strikes outside of Ukraine, but ultimately, Ukraine has to make decisions for itself about how it’s going to conduct this war,” he said. Until now, the Biden administration has reportedly told Ukraine not to strike inside Russia, which has been a point of tension between Washington and Kyiv. Läs artikel