Senior European officials have told Ukraine to be realistic about the war, which in effect means forgetting about the possibility of pushing the Russian army out of all occupied territories . This can also be seen as a political suicide for Volodymyr Zelensky, writes The Wall Street Journal, quoted by the UNIAN agency.
Acknowledging that the fighting could end in a scenario where Russia controls part of the Ukrainian territory is a huge political risk for Zelensky, tantamount to political suicide, according to political scientists.
However, the reality is hard for Kiev – as Lithuania's foreign minister said, there is a decline in the West's resolve to help Ukraine regain all its territories, including Crimea. NATO countries have even banned the ZSU from using Western weapons in Russia.
Although the surprise move to invade Russian territory in Kursk is seen by Ukrainians as a humiliation for Putin, in the West it is seen as unlikely to turn the tide of the war.
Some European diplomats say Ukraine needs to be more realistic about its wartime goals. This could help Western officials make the case to voters for providing arms and aid to the country.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy arrived in Kiev earlier to meet with Ukrainian officials to discuss how best to determine Ukraine's victory and what help would be needed to to achieve it. Over the past two weeks, several other high-ranking US and European officials have been in Kiev. The talks point to a constant source of tension between Kiev and the West: whether the desire to expel Russian forces from Ukraine matches military reality. Senior European officials say Kiev has been told that a complete victory for Ukraine would require hundreds of billions of dollars in Western support, something neither Washington nor Europe could realistically provide.