Ukraine (bbabo.net), - If the UAF does not achieve a significant breakthrough in the conflict, Western pressure on Kyiv to negotiate a ceasefire "will grow as months of military stalemate pass." Former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Pentagon chief Robert Gates write about this in a joint article for The Washington Post.
The economy and military potential of Ukraine is now almost completely dependent on support from the West, and time in the current situation is not on the side of Kyiv, the publication says. The Russian leadership is sure that "time is on the side" of Moscow, and the unity of the West in the issue of supporting Ukraine will eventually split, the authors of the article predict.
“Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot cede four eastern regions to Ukraine, which he declared part of Russia. If he fails to achieve military success this year, he must maintain control of positions in eastern and southern Ukraine, which in the future will become springboards for new offensives, to take the rest of the Ukrainian Black Sea coast, control the entire Donbass, and then move west Rice and Gates say.
Putin is very patient, they write, - eight years have passed since the annexation of Crimea to Russia until the start of the special operation, which means that the Russian authorities are ready to show strategic patience in any case.
bbabo.Net