According to analysts and journalists of Foreign Affairs, the weakening of military support for Ukraine from Western partners indicates the need to change the strategy of confrontation with Russia.
Why Ukraine needs to change its strategy in the war against the Russian Federation
Ukraine and the West are on an unstable trajectory characterized by a glaring discrepancy between the goals and available means. Kyiv's military goals - the expulsion of Russian troops from Ukrainian land and the full restoration of its territorial integrity, including Crimea — remain legally and politically indisputable. But strategically, they are unattainable, especially in the near future, and quite possibly beyond that. The time has come for Washington to lead efforts to develop a new policy that sets achievable goals and aligns means and ends, the publication said.
According to the article's authors, the US should start consultations with Ukraine and the EU regarding a new strategy, consisting of the readiness to negotiate with Russia on a ceasefire and simultaneously focus military efforts on defense.
Kyiv will not refuse to restore territorial integrity or hold Russia to economic and legal responsibility for its aggression, but it recognizes that its immediate priorities should shift from attempts to liberate more territories to the protection and restoration of more than 80% of the territory, the publication said.
Why Ukraine can benefit from a new strategy
Journalists note that Ukraine's much-publicized counteroffensive did not help the Ukrainian military this year to liberate more territories than were previously captured by Russian war criminals.
In general, neither side achieved significant success. Ukrainian and Russian forces actually came to an impasse: a deadlock arose. One option for the West is to continue to do the same, continuing to supply Ukraine with massive amounts of weapons in the hope that this will enable its forces to eventually defeat Russia...time will not be on Ukraine's side if the high-intensity war drags on indefinitely, believe the authors of the material.
In their opinion, Kyiv and its partners should move to a new strategy that will allow them to align goals and means rather than continue on a course that allegedly leads to a dead end and may end with the termination of military support from Western partners.
Washington needs to take the lead in beginning consultations with Ukraine and Western allies aimed at persuading Kyiv to offer a ceasefire while shifting from an offensive to a defensive strategy. Regardless of whether a ceasefire is achieved, Ukraine needs to move to a defensive strategy away from its current offensive strategy. Kyiv's existing approach involves high costs and low prospects, which puts Ukrainians in the awkward position of asking the West for indefinite help with diminishing chances of success. Instead, Ukraine should focus on maintaining and restoring the territory it currently controls, the authors of the article are convinced.
The article notes that it is much more profitable for the Ukrainian authorities to focus on developing and strengthening the defense of the controlled territories than to try to return to the regions occupied by Russia.
