The West has helped Ukraine survive the war with Russia — but not enough to secure victory

Embattled Ukraine is on the horns of a dilemma. The spring counteroffensive did not go as well as expected. Neither the United States nor the European Union gained approval for substantial increases in weaponry, upwards of US$50 billion (C$67 billion) each. A sense of a prolonged stalemate is emerging as a regrettable degree of fatigue, if not skepticism, affects the U.S. and other western allies of Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia, sensing weakness, is intensifying its attacks, launching last week a major barrage of missiles and drone attacks on several Ukrainian cities.

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Any backsliding on Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s western support now will compound his ability to sustain the battle against Russia and his domestic challenges.

Emulating the pattern of Russian victories over Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler, President Vladimir Putin has more than doubled his troops in Ukraine, including many prisoners and with scant regard for casualties, to overwhelm Ukraine’s beleaguered forces. He wants a deadlock or better — at least until the U.S. presidential election brings the prospect of a president more willing to make concessions.

Washington and Kyiv disagreed on basic strategy for the spring offensive. The U.S. favoured a decisive concentration of forces in a single assault — a fundamental principle of war — while Ukraine, hampered by deficient air power and concerns about casualties, preferred a three-pronged attack across the 970-kilometre front. (Eerily reminiscent of the debate between the American general Dwight D. Eisenhower, and his British counterpart, Bernard L. Montgomery, on the........

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