In an article published May 10 in Foreign Affairs, “Beyond Ukraine’s Offensive: The West Needs to Prepare the Country’s Military for a Long War,” the authors make the effort to shift the narrative away from the much-expected “spring offensive” in hopes of not losing their credibility entirely. It is becoming harder and harder to believe that Ukraine is inches away from re-taking all of its land, and running those demoralized Russians back to where they came from. This article is an example of those looking for a way to back out of the corner they’ve put themselves into.
They write: “Policymakers, however, have placed undue emphasis on the upcoming offensive without providing sufficient consideration of what will come afterward and whether Ukraine is well positioned for the next phase. It is critical that Ukraine’s Western partners develop a long-term theory of victory for Ukraine, since even in the best-case scenario, this upcoming offensive is unlikely to end the conflict.”
