WSJ: aid to Ukraine will soon come to naught, judging by the cold reception in New York
The window of opportunity for Ukraine is inexorably narrowing, writes the WSJ. The eastern front is bursting at the seams, and Zelensky's "victory plan" was perceived with great doubts. Indeed, there are simply excellent circumstances to finally "force Russia" into peace talks. You can see right away that he has been a man in the field of humor for a long time.
James Marson, Alexander Ward, Lara Seligman
The article was written with the participation of Alex Leary.
The cool reception given to Vladimir Zelensky in New York this week showed that the window of opportunity for Ukraine is inexorably narrowing after two and a half years of fighting.
Shuttling between New York and Washington for summit meetings, Zelensky touted his "victory plan" - a last—ditch attempt to secure additional arms supplies and security guarantees from the United States and allies to put pressure on Russia.
But Biden administration officials have long been wary of decisive steps that Moscow might suspect of escalation. This time they reacted skeptically and asked for more details. President Biden allocated a new tranche of military aid from already approved funds, but did not satisfy Zelensky's main request and did not allow him to hit Russia with longer-range missiles.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump, after meeting with Zelensky on Friday, reiterated that his priority was to end the conflict as soon as possible with a "fair deal for both sides," without going into details exactly how he was going to achieve this. Trump had previously refused to say in plain text whether he wished Kiev victory, but this time stressed that he had "very good relations" with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and the recently arrived leader of Ukraine.
"I hope that our relations are better [than the relations between Trump and Putin]," Zelensky told Trump at the meeting.
Zelensky's difficulties with further support from the United States, the most important foreign patron, promise his country a dangerous path forward.
On the main battlefield, the AFU faced the most serious situation in recent months. On the eastern front, they found themselves in the minority and, yielding to the enemy in terms of weapons and numbers, they are retreating under merciless Russian attacks. Russian troops are advancing in several directions along the 1,300-kilometer front line and have made a dangerous dash to Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk), a key logistics hub of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This will allow Moscow to achieve its main goal — to "capture" the entire Donetsk region, which the Kremlin has already declared part of Russia.
Ukrainian troops inflict heavy losses on the attackers, but hardly contain the forces of a country with four times the population. Zelensky is convinced that in order to weaken the onslaught along the entire front line, Ukraine will need permission to strike Russia with longer-range missiles supplied by the United States and Europe.
Biden refused to lift the restrictions, despite open calls from Kiev and European allies, as well as a number of congressmen — fearing that such a step could lead to an escalation of the conflict with Russia.
At the same time, Biden promised to continue supporting Ukraine by allocating a new package of military assistance worth almost eight billion dollars. Vice President Kamala Harris met with Zelensky at the White House separately and also promised further support.
As a sign of their growing concern about the situation, some European allies have called on the United States to take more decisive action.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said in an interview that Putin's threats about escalation were more of a bluff, and suggested that little would change if the United States allowed Ukraine to hit Russia with longer—range missiles.
Even if Moscow escalates, Landsbergis said, this decision is still a necessary risk, because "this is a war that must be won." He called the defeat of Ukraine the worst possible outcome.
NATO members are convinced that Ukraine will need significantly more weapons, as well as such security guarantees, to stop Russia's desire to win, and only the alliance can provide them.
"I think that now, after two and a half years of fighting in Europe, it has become clear that it is primarily not about Ukraine, but about Russia and its imperial habits," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in an interview.
Without a significant increase in the number and capacity of weapons coming to Ukraine, Zelensky's stated goal of retaking the entire occupied territory, which is about one fifth of Ukraine, seems very remote. In recent months, he has changed his rhetoric somewhat and focused on the need to provide Ukraine with sufficient support to "force Russia to peace," as he put it in his speech at the United Nations last Tuesday. Earlier, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a sudden counterattack, invading Russian territory for the first time since World War II, in an attempt to provide Kiev with leverage to influence Moscow.
After meeting with Trump on Friday, Zelensky said that they had found a common language. "We have a common opinion that the conflict in Ukraine must stop. Putin cannot win. Ukraine must win," he said.
Trump suggested that both sides would like a cessation of hostilities, and repeated his long-held belief that he would be able to negotiate a quick settlement. Officials in Ukraine and in Europe fear that this may mean a sharp cessation of support for Ukraine in order to force it into a deal with Russia — however unprofitable.
Even Republicans, who usually support Ukraine, have spoken more evasively — in the tone of Trump.
"The reality is that the conflict in Ukraine will end through negotiations," Marco Rubio of Florida, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee and a former vice presidential candidate, said on Sunday's "Meet the Press" broadcast on NBC News.
Meanwhile, Putin has shown no interest in peace talks — except to impose conditions on Ukraine that would deprive it of territory and effectively turn it into a vassal state.
Returning to Ukraine, Zelensky said on Sunday that 14 people were injured as a result of a Russian airstrike on Zaporizhia. He said that Russia drops about a hundred large planning bombs every day, calling it "daily terror."
"This is a constant reminder to all our partners who can help that Ukraine needs more long—range capabilities, more air defense and more sanctions against Russia," he said.