The debate in Washington about ending the war in Ukraine has become “amorphous and paradoxical,” according to the New York Times. As Ukraine is set to kick off its long-awaited spring offensive, its Western backers are unsure if they are willing to pursue peace with Russia if the attack is a success or failure.
“The debate in Washington over potential peace talks is amorphous and paradoxical. There are even competing arguments based on the same hypothetical outcome,” the Times reported. “If Ukraine makes substantial gains, that might mean it is time for talks, some officials say – or it could mean Ukraine should put diplomacy on the back burner and keep fighting.”
In February, the Washington Post reported that the Joe Biden administration believed, “the best course of action [for] empowering Ukraine is to retake as much territory as possible in coming months before sitting down with Putin at the negotiating table.”
More recently, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called for Ukraine to reclaim its territory, echoing the demands made by Kiev. President Volodymyr Zelensky’s administration has maintained that it is unwilling to concede any territory, including the Crimean Peninsula, to Moscow.
That position may create an endless conflict as a senior American official told the Times it was unlikely the war would end by Ukraine retaking territory as Russian President Vladimir Putin “could simply order a wider draft mobilization to rebuild some of his military power.”
Washington has been planning a counteroffensive for Kiev over the past several months . Publicly, American officials have maintained they expect Ukrainian forces to carry out a successful attack. However, leaks have revealed that the White House is privately pessimistic regarding Kiev’s prospects.
Western officials are also divided on how to proceed if the counteroffensive fails. “If Ukraine is unable to seize significant territory, some US and European officials might want to nudge Mr. Zelensky toward a negotiated settlement.” The Times report continues, “But some officials and analysts in Washington caution against such thinking.”
In the short term, Western officials are firmly against any ceasefire at this time. American officials are concerned the Kremlin will use the pretense of talks to cement its territorial gains.
While the White House is divided on if it should even push Kiev into negotiations with Moscow, the West remains firmly committed to fueling the Ukrainian war machine. In a joint press conference with Blinken, UK Foreign Minister James Cleverly declared , “We need to continue to support them, irrespective of whether this forthcoming offensive generates huge gains on the battlefield, because until this conflict is resolved and resolved properly, it is not over.” Blinken remarked that he “violently” agreed with his British counterpart.
Kiev appears to be preparing for the possibility that the coming assault fails to regain a substantial amount of territory. “The expectation from our counteroffensive campaign is overestimated in the world,” said Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.
Additionally, on Wednesday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated , “Do not consider this counteroffensive as the last one, because we do not know what will come of it,” adding that should it fail, “It means we have to prepare for the next counteroffensive.” He went on to demand Germany pressure the Americans to transfer F16s to Ukraine.
Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com, news editor of the Libertarian Institute, and co-host ofConflicts of Interest.
“If Ukraine makes substantial gains, that might mean it is time for
talks, some officials say – or it could mean Ukraine should put
diplomacy on the back burner and keep fighting.”
If pigs could fly….
Ukraine just gained some ground north of Bakhmut at the cost of 2,000 troops Killed in Action in one 24 hour period.
Can Ukraine afford another 100,000 or more Killed in Action to gaining some ground.
The blood of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian men is on the hands of Biden and almost all members of congress from both parties!
Slight correction.
The blood of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian men is on the hands of Biden and ALMOST ALL members of congress from THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND ALL MEMBERS FROM THE DEM PARTY.
Because Russia has zero to do with all the Ukrainians that have died. Yes, we got it all wrong, NATO invaded Ukraine and is killing Ukrainians, Russia is just assisting Ukraine to retake their land.
That beautiful sound is thieves falling out… 🎵
There are reports about Zelensky selling Ukrainian property to BlackRock and other big banks. Is Ukaraine on the auction block and how much is the cut for Zelensky?
Could it get crazier than that?
The U.S.’s Vulture Capitalists have been circling Ukraine for some time now. Zelensky has been cutting deals with them while enriching himself.
The war in Ukraine was never about preserving democracy; it was all about hurting Russia and looting Ukraine.
Another rough day for the Russians at Bakhmut. According to the MoD the Ukrainians are attacking with over 1,000 troops and 40 tanks. According to Prizoghin today’s temporary “redeployment” of some Russian forces was a “rout.” Prigozhin claims that the Ukrainians opened up the previously blocked main highway into the city from the West.
This is a war that Russia can’t win. The Ukrainians are determined to resist the Russian invaders. In the end, hearts and minds are stronger than force of arms.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/12/russian-troops-fall-back-to-regroup-north-of-ukraines-bakhmut
If that is all they’ve got, it proves quite the opposite of the suggested understanding of the event.
According to, according to, according to, …..
As for the rest of your comment, I’m appalled at your reliance on hearts and minds as a justification for the fact that the US government is invested in keeping this going for its own purposes while Ukrainians and Russians are locked in a bloody battle which has every likelihood of continuing through another year.
The obscenity here is Washington’s willingness to pursue yet another proxy war to further its aim at holding on to power.
Look, the whole project of the US is to enmesh Russia in a forever war (like the one the US just left in Afghanistan). This project is explicitly articulated in the Rand paper on over-extending Russia (https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB10014.html)
So, don’t expect the US to favor negotiations, whether Ukraine is gaining or losing ground. It’s all about bleeding Russia white, and then breaking it up into a bunch of smaller states subservient to the US.
The US is looking toward an insurgency in Ukraine after it loses the place. That was the original plan, Plan A. That Ukraine fought better than expected has just delayed Plan A from going into effect.
There will never be peace on earth as long as the U.S. exists in its present form.
Right. How it must joy Ukranian hearts to know Washington plans to continue to use them against the Russians for the next 20 yrs.
Senility.