The US and its European allies are quietly shifting their strategy in Ukraine from supporting Kyiv’s unrealistic goal of driving Russian forces out to encouraging a defensive posture with future negotiations in mind, POLITICO reported on Wednesday, citing US and European officials.
The US and its close allies have discouraged peace talks throughout the conflict, including in March and April of 2022, when a peace deal was on the table that would have left Ukraine territorially intact in exchange for the country’s neutrality, something that was recently confirmed by Ukraine’s lead negotiator.
Instead of pushing for peace, then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Ukraine to keep fighting, and the US declared one of its war goals was to “weaken” Russia. Now, Moscow has made it clear any future peace deal must recognize the territory it has annexed as Russian. The New York Times reported on December 23 that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been signaling through diplomatic channels that he is open to a ceasefire that freezes the fighting along the current lines.
The POLITICO report said that US and European officials are discussing deploying Ukrainian forces in a defensive posture instead of continuing the failed counteroffensive.
The shift in strategy comes as both the US and Europe are struggling to come up with more funding for the proxy war. Part of the Biden administration’s long-term strategy is to help build up Ukraine’s own military-industrial complex so the country is not so reliant on foreign aid.
The Biden administration has not publicly outlined its shift in strategy, but there are signs that the US is thinking about winding down the proxy war. A mantra commonly repeated by US and NATO officials was that they would support Ukraine against Russia for “as long as it takes.” But when President Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky earlier this month, he said the US would continue supplying Ukraine with weapons for “as long as we can.”
For his part, Zelensky still maintains his war aim is to drive Russian forces out of all the Ukrainian territory that’s been captured. Time Magazine recently spoke with an aide to Zelensky who said the Ukrainian leader “deludes himself” into thinking Ukraine can win. “We’re out of options. We’re not winning. But try telling him that,” the aide said.
Sounds like the U.S. and cronies are losing their ass in the Ukraine.
Why then not they just throw in the towel, and make some Peace in the World for a change?
Why dont senile Putin just pull his sh!t Army out of Ukraine and make some peace in the world for a change?
LOL Don Julio aren’t you going to keep pretending that your beloved socialist Biden is winning in Ukraine? You said Russia could never take Bakhmut. Ooops. Poor little guy.
I don’t think it’s “pretending” for him. I think his version of reality is built on it.
I have tried to warn him to observe what’s actually happening and shift his narrative such that he won’t become this board’s biggest “We Told You So” target, but I’ve made too many insightful observations about him & he’s just running and hiding now.
Biden isn’t a socialist. Not even close.
When pigs fly will this happen. The prime business of the US is war production. No power on earth or heaven can stop this train to ruin.
This is no more clever than the summer offensive.
Russia has proven to be very effective at attacking Ukraines defensive positions and usually causes Ukraine more casualties than they take themselves.
It is all about dominance in Artillery and Ukraines lack of any meaningful air force.
Effective? Lol.
Delusional.
The current russia to Ukraine KIA ratio is 7:1.
Im sure the kremlin probably has it 15:1 in their favor and that’s how you know it’s really not going well for Russia.
Ya know what is delusional, skippy?.. The New York Times story about how Putin is ready to throw in the towel.
That and your posts, of course.
Putin realizes he can’t win and he’s shredding Russian bodies in those “meatwave” tactics he’s ordering. He doesn’t want to run for president with having only taken one small town (Marinka) with THOUSANDS of dead Russians being shown on Telegram.
“freezing in place” would permit of the Neocon strategy: build defensive lines and build and restore materiel deficencies, recruit, train, and integrate into NATO standard, in order to again be employed by NATO to “weaken”, and eventually break-up the RF. Putin must intend stricter terms??
Agreed. Putin would be voted out of office if he decides to Band-aid this festering abscess again. My opinion: The Russian people want solutions–not Band-aids. Any ceasefire agreement right now would be a Band-aid, except the infection is now even more out of control. The main reason: We’re not done “provoking and justifying this war of aggression.”
The continuing US mind-numbing pursuit of its aim to destroy the RF makes clear there is no possibility of a ceasefire.
Yes. I immediately thought of the Minsk agreements.
Dude! This clip is so funny.
I have not laughed this hard for a long time. You gotta watch this before they remove it: https://youtu.be/WU_Ug2pHMrU?si=N4tdoqeAItsMt-nk
I love it 😉
Can’t decide who is my favorite, the nurse or the scientist with the lighted glove?
Currently, Ukraine has dominence in ACCURATE artillery and has push the Russian Air Force back far enough that they can use their glide bombs (see: 5 Su-34s shot down). You can fantasize all you want about the Russian military but they’ve been handled by the pesky Ukes.
Slava Ukraini!
“The US and its close allies have discouraged peace talks throughout the conflict, including in March and April of 2022, when a peace deal was on the table that would have left Ukraine territorially intact in exchange for the country’s neutrality, something that was recently confirmed by Ukraine’s lead negotiator.“
BS paragraph by Dave DeCamp.
This imperialistic attitude of be neutral or i will invade and take your land is the reason why countries rushed to join NATO after the fall of the Soviet Union. Still happening today.
“US wants Ukraine to take a defensive posture”
It is hard to dig trenches when the ground is frozen. Germany found the same problem in their first loosing winter war in Russia/Ukraine in the 1940s.
The USSR kicked the ass out of the Nazis inn WW2 when the ground froze. This will happen again to the foolish Ukrainians and anyone who keeps sending them arms such as the US.
Hahaha. Read one article about history and you’re an “expert”!
Yes. The Russian winter and a long logistics line defeated the Germans. But, you do realize this is a UKRAINIAN winter and the Ukrainians live there!
Um, Russians live there, half the country is Russian. And what in your brain creates a reality where living there makes it easier for construction companies to dig? Where is the logic in that? Or were you just trying to score some nonsense point?
And you think defenses consist of trenches. You are like a kid watching a movie. A defense today needs multiple layers, we don’t live far back in history. It needs large minefields, tank traps, dragon’s teeth. How would the Kiev regime do that all along the contact line with no time to spare and while being shelled and bombed by planes?
The incompetent regime in Kiev tanked the Ukrainian economy in 2015, and they steal money and supplies paid by Westerners every day. When they were digging fortifications in the north in 2022 a lot of the “trenches” turned out to be shallow crahp, with the money pocketed by businesses close to the Biden-loyal politicians. But you don’t know anything about that.
Enjoy seeing Russia taking more and more towns. Russia has now liberated Mariinka, the Ukies are running from Verbove, and Russians are now only two kilometers from Chasov Yar.
Happy New Years, Biden lover! LOL
Whew! You’re ignorant but very compassionate! Good for you! I’m sure your relatives LOVE spending the holidays with you!
As I said before: Your garbage is easily debunked. You’re an old-man-yelling-at-clouds and you continued to be delusional. Such fun!
Sorry, Ratio, um, WHERE in your reply there did you ACTUALLY address or refute any of Jon Met-Life’s points ?
Kinda seems you just went ad-hominem & ran from his solid argument.
It wasn’t a solid argument at all. It was a rant. Not worth addressing. Sorry.
Met-Life made a number of interesting and insightful points.
“How would the Kiev regime do that all along the contact line with no time to spare and while being shelled and bombed by planes?”
Wonderful question. One that you dodged.
“The incompetent regime in Kiev tanked the Ukrainian economy in 2015, and they steal money and supplies paid by Westerners every day.”
This is a very powerful claim of corruption and indictment of the Kievvian regime. You just let it slide because…”it’s not solid” ?
That you can’t address an argument does not mean the arguments are not “worth” addressing.
What do you mean by “Russian?”
If you’re speaking in terms of nation-state affiliation, then by definition Ukrainians aren’t Russians.
If you’re speaking in terms of ethnic identification (e.g. language and culture), there’s no obvious reason to suppose that ethnically identifying as “Russian” implies loyalty to or love for whatever nation-state gang happens to run a regime from Moscow at the moment.
That was supposed to happen, last winter.
Was a mild winter in the region, wasn’t it ?
It’s not they need a whole trench, just 6′ x 3′ per man will do.
Mass graves are still more economical.
“It is hard to dig trenches when the ground is frozen.”
Bring in some machines & you’ll have it trenched out in no time – and if it’s frozen deep enough you might not even need shoring until the ground thaws and rains come. Frozen conditions’re the best time to lay in drainage and 3/4 crush, get some landscape fabric in to keep sediment from clogging up the pipe.
“Germany found the same problem in their first loosing winter war…”
Germans could’ve had THE tightest winter war you ever seen in your young adult life, Son, and they STILL underestimated the Soviet’s resolve and tactics.
Thank you for making me much younger than I am.
Both Napoleon’s army and the German army came up against part of the issue with attacking Russia.
1. Vast territory complicating logistics.
2. Climatic conditions in winter complicating warfare and negating the superiority of Western weapons.
Now for Russian resolve it was not Soviet, but the Russian soul which cannot be accounted for. In the West the concept of freedom is paramount, but in Russia it is love of the mother land which is paramount. Add to the concept of love for mother Russia, the penchant for suffering that Russians can endure and you have a potent adversary.
As for machines digging fortifications in the Ukrainian soil good luck. Not happening as if did not in the 1940s.
The Neocons in charge of the Biden administration’s foreign policy are clueless. They are blindfolded and cannot see the consequences of their policies. They go from one disaster to another one, unable to understand why they are wrong.
What a pity!
Peace is always at hand. It’s merely a matter of sitting the idiots down and making them think about it.
That is a tad cynical SF! You have to throw in some donuts and coffee…
As if that is gonna make any difference…!
I would substitute a “t” in place of the “f” in the lede.
And eliminate the word “strategy”.
Big Time…!
in other words; uncle sam has admitted that acquiring Crimea is not going to happen
Hello there, Dave. Read the “sources”.
So some American or non-American “officials” say they have talked to two retired Russian “officials”.
Dave, did you see a name in that paragraph?
Or any explanation why Putin would agree to “freeze the conflict” right now which is a Washington pipe dream, not a Russian one? The reality is the complete opposite, the Russians have repeatedly indicated that they are going to go further, in order to secure a lasting peace by weakening Ukraine. And the Russian public will not accept anything else.
Dave, Russia has now liberated Mariinka, the Ukies are running from Verbove, and Russians are now only two kilometers from Chasov Yar. The Ukies get only ten shells per day in most places, they say the Russians have an endless supply of shells, and they say “we aren’t even thinking of attacking Russian positions”.
Why on Earth then would the Russians want to “freeze the conflict along current lines”? That fantasy line dreamed up by socialist Biden-loyal media has been openly refuted by the Russians.
The USSA (UN) never had a strategy FOR THE PEOPLE on Ukraine. Our government is a lie.
.
A common sense update on Global-Communism versus Sovereign Nations (senior editor at Ronin’s Revelations). December 31, 2023 edition:
.
https://roninhardjan.substack.com/p/americas-shadow-government-behind
Neocons never
shitshift strategy on anything and especially NOT on Ukraine. IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN: “Support Ukraine for as long as it takes” and “For as long as we can” Until the last Ukrainian or WWIII. Zelensky is not the only one deluding himself–WE ARE TOO.I don’t believe for a moment that the neocons have given up on destroying Russia. They have lost this battle but plan B seems to be to recruit Eastern European countries to send troops to back up Ukraine and Western ones to pay for it all.
But in the meantime, Genocide Joe and his neocon handlers are facing an election. So they plant talk of negotiations with Russia and also talk of Putin’s desire to end the war out of desperation, a Big Lie. If the negotiations and Big Lie can be maintained through November, Genocide Joe hopes to win.
Of course plan B means hundreds of thousands more lives being lost – but what the hell. It’s not Americans.
Interesting take. I mean, Joltin’ Joe really has a fork in the road here – take the George W. “Imma war pres-dent” Bush tack and seem like he’s ironclad Commander-In-Chief for the sake of macho votes…OR look to ape a bit of The Donald and come into the ’24 election touting how he “ended the occupation/war in Afghanistan/Iraq/Ukraine”.
Maintain the Ukraine war, or end it ?
I really think the strategy will be determined when a GOP frontrunner emerges and Team-BidenCorp knows what they’re up against in Nov.
Shame on Politico and DeCamp for mouthing Russian propaganda. There have always been some in US and EU govenments and media doing that. It’s not news. Driving Russia from Ukraine is not unrealistic. Even Kissinger said so, just before he died.
As if Kissinger were anyone wise.
You are delusional. There is no way that Ukraine is getting back all it’s territory. This was possible in the beginning, but Western bellicosity cost Ukraine dearly.