The cold, harsh wind of reality is sweeping across Ukraine, replacing the balmy, alluring wind of delusion. Two previous supporters of Ukraine are proclaiming that Kiev has no path to victory.
In a Feb. 22 op-ed in The Hill, “Ukraine Can No Longer Win,” Col. Joe Buccino (ret.), a defense analyst at the Department of Defense Innovation Board, writes, “As the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion nears, and the latest aid package for Ukraine stalls in Congress, we must be clear-eyed about the future. There is no path for Ukraine to win this war. American support will not change this reality….
“The reality, two years in, is that there is no path to victory for Ukraine, at least not in the sense of pushing Russian troops back to 2021 lines of control. After Ukrainian troops abandoned Avdeyevka following some of the war’s heaviest fighting—the most significant loss or gain by either side in nine months—almost all advantages accrue to Russia.
