It’s often been said that the second-best answer to yes is a fast no, and that the worst answer of all is a slow no. As the war in Ukraine closes out its second year, and as victory on the battlefield or a negotiated settlement appear as elusive as ever, we’re seeing that when it has come to Ukraine’s requests for international support—particularly military aid—there’s an answer that has proven worse than a slow no: the slow yes.

As President Zelensky petitions the U.S. and NATO for continued support, with high-profile visits to several capitals in December, and as Congress fights over another aid package to Ukraine, the U.S. and NATO are now shipping to Kyiv many of the sensitive weapon systems that Ukrainian officials have been requesting since 2022. Despite shortfalls in Western production capacity, this includes first-generation main battle tanks like the M1A1 Abrams, long range precision artillery like HIMARS, and fighter jets like the F-16. As these weapons systems arrived on the battlefield in the last few months, albeit in smaller numbers than the Ukrainians would like, it’s to an environment that’s changed radically since they were first requested. Large swaths of territory haven’t exchanged hands between Russia and Ukraine in more than a year. Putin’s forces are no longer stunned by Ukrainian overperformance, but dug in with extensive fortifications and trenches. The war of movement is over. Opportunity is dwindling.

In the first six months of the war, when Ukraine seized the initiative on the battlefield, it was easy to........

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