Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently remarked that the West is ” afraid that Russia will lose the war. And it does not want Ukraine to lose it. Everyone wants to find some model for the war to end faster”. This assessment is correct, as the West has largely maintained this ambivalent attitude from the beginning until now.
However, this is only part of the issue. Another aspect worth noting is that the war in Ukraine is an ongoing process. Both Zelenskyy and Ukraine still have significant opportunities to achieve victory, although these have not been fully seized. For example, even though the U.S. delayed assistance, aid did eventually arrive. More importantly, Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian army failed in the summer offensive, shifting from offense to defense and losing the initiative in the war, which is the most critical point. Before the summer offensive, the West, including the U.S., provided substantial aid and equipment to Zelenskyy upon request, including Patriot systems, M1 tanks, Storm Shadow missiles, and unmanned attack boats capable of controlling the Black Sea. At that time, Zelenskyy was quite confident, and we still remember the optimistic statements from Ukrainian senior officials. Unfortunately, despite these favorable conditions, Zelenskyy still lost the war.
Zelenskyy’s current stance can almost be understood as shirking responsibility. The Taliban in Afghanistan achieved victory without aid, so he does not have sufficient justification for the failure.
As it stands, Zelenskyy must face the reality of the situation and adopt pragmatic, proactive strategies to turn the tide on the Ukrainian battlefield. This is the only viable path forward.
