Russian President Vladimir Putin, 70, has made clear he sees the Ukraine War as the ultimate battle with the United States and NATO, not a war between Russia and Ukraine. Western nations led by 80-year-old President Joe Biden grossly miscalculated Putin’s resolve to hold his own in Ukraine, no matter what the costs. While neither side stands to gain victory, both sides have not found any off ramps, with Ukraine’s 44-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky begs for more cash-and-weapons from the U.S. and NATO, saying more lethal weapons would help him defeat the Russian Federation. But judging by how the war’s gone over the first 12 months, it’s clear that Ukraine is only catching up to reclaim lost territory, roughly 25% of Ukraine’s sovereign land. Both sides seem dug into an unending conflict, draining both Ukraine and Russia, in what looks like loggerheads.
All Zelensky talks about is how Ukraine defends the European Continent from a Russian takeover, something not supported by any facts on the ground. By all accounts, the war has ground to a halt, with neither side making any real progress. Sending more cash-and-arms to Ukraine has not produced the kind of result that gives citizens, especially in Ukraine, reason for hope. Zelensky’s unwillingness to compromise, move the conflict from the battlefield to the peace table has left the American public more skeptical than ever about supporting the war. Biden has dug in his heels but knows that the prospect of a Ukraine victory are slim-and-none. Biden once hoped he could vanquish the Russian military, making prospects for victory less realistic. Resorting to clichés about defending democracy in Europe, Biden knows that bankrupt Ukraine cannot take on the Russia indefinitely.
Biden has chose to ignore his 64-year-old Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Miley who said a few weeks ago that there’s no military solution to Ukraine, only a political one. When Biden’s 52-year-old Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines confirmed that the Ukraine War was near stalemate, she was ignored as well. New polls show that the American public has lost patience supplying unending cash-and-arms to Ukraine, realizing that the U.S. has bigger priorities than spending umpteen billions on a former Soviet satellite fighting a border dispute with the Kremlin. Biden wrecked decades of pragmatic, cooperative relations with Russia, turning a cooperative adversary into a bitter enemy. Putin views the Ukraine War as Biden waging war with NATO against the Russian Federation. Putin has no intent of rolling over to the Western Alliance, certainly not to Ukraine.
Biden keeps insisting that we can’t let Putin win in Ukraine because it would spell perpetual war on the European Continent. But Biden doesn’t really know what Putin wants in Ukraine. Zelensky claims Putin’s trying to conquer the former Soviet satellite in his unrelenting march to reclaim Russian dominance over Eastern Europe. But Putin has made clear he wants independence for Russian speaking enclaves in Donetsk and Luhansk that wants nothing to do with Kiev’s pro-Western government. Putin offered to end his offensive in Ukraine for Zelensky acknowledging the independence of Donetsk, Luhansk and Russian sovereignty over Crimea. Russia had troops in Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea before the Feb. 24, 2022 invasion. Yet Zelensky rejected any peace proposal insisting, with Biden’s cash-and-arms, that he would battle the Kremlin to oust every Russian soldier from Ukraine.
U.S. and European media haven’t helped matters spreading unwelcome disinformation about the Ukraine War. Zelensky sets the tone for the Western press, insisting that Putin wants to wipe out Ukraine, commit genocide against itself people and destroy the Ukrainian identity. “Ahead, it will be even more difficult and more costly for both Ukraine and Russia,” said an anonymous Russian source. Economic losses on this scale are not worth a few conquered territories,” expressing the exasperation with the war. Whether Putin incurs economic and battlefield losses or not, he’s not going to surrender to the U.S. or NATO, planning to stay in the fight for the long haul. So how does that help Ukraine, or for that matter the U.S, whose citizens are growing wary of Biden’s capacity as commander in chief. Taking on the Russian Federation was a big mistake by the White House.
Biden and Zelensky think Ukraine’s spring offensive with tanks, missiles and possibly fighter jets will force Putin to give up and abandon Ukraine. But there’s no evidence to back up their plans, only conjecture about the future. “The next six moths, it seems to me, and it’s our assessment at the CIA, are going to be critical,” said 66-year-old CIA Director William Burns. Burns thinks “puncturing Putin’s hubris” will be a big factor in Kiev and Washington getting an upper hand. “The president [Putin] believes he can win in Ukraine,” said an unnamed Russian official. “He, of course, cannot lose the war. Victory will be ours.” Neither side has anything to gain continuing to fight. Zelensky hasn’t yet come to the realization that he cannot win the war against the Kremlin. With the war a stalemate, only going to the peace table can win back sovereign territory lost over 12 months of war.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
