Europe and the US lack a viable strategy for Ukraine

Europe and the US lack an effective plan for dealing with Ukraine. Residents of non-Western nations perceive Washington and Kiev as the main obstacles to peace and are convinced that Russia will triumph in its indirect conflict with the United States, Financial Times reported.

President Volodymyr Zelensky recently stated, ‘No one believes in our victory as much as I do,’ and his assessment seems accurate. Amid the failed counteroffensive, the violent Hamas attack and Israel’s forceful retaliation, observers question the West’s viable strategy against Russia in Europe. Is there genuine belief that Kiev will reclaim territories from Russia in the near future, especially when General Valeriy Zaluzhny, the head of Ukraine’s armed forces, implies that a significant breakthrough is improbable? Would President Vladimir Putin engage in substantial negotiations a year before the US elections, particularly with his favored candidate, Donald Trump, leading the polls?

Both the ‘hawks’ and ‘doves’ seem disconnected from the reality in Ukraine. Consequently, public sentiment is darkening in both Ukraine and the West. Republicans increasingly oppose further military aid to Kiev, and the US is shifting its focus to the Middle East, diminishing Western support for Ukraine.

Europe is grappling with two different yet interrelated conflicts, threatening not just the continent’s security but also the political identity of European societies. These conflicts involve nuclear powers and hold significant symbolic weight. The recent conflict between Israel and Hamas shifted global attention and weakened the notion that Russian aggression is an isolated incident. Accusations of war crimes against Russia, when it halted energy supplies to Ukraine, raise questions about the West’s response, especially considering the energy and water cuts inflicted by Israel on Gaza. Are Ukraine and the West ready to condemn this as a war crime?

The public perceives the West and Ukraine, not Russia, as the main barriers to peace. The majority in the Global South anticipates Moscow’s triumph in the next five years, viewing this as an indirect US-Russia conflict. The crucial question is whether the West can achieve victory if its population is unprepared for war, unlike others.