The Economist magazine published an article entitled “The war is going badly. Ukraine and its allies must change course. In this material, the journalists call on Volodymyr Zelensky to set real military goals for the Ukrainian armed forces, which at the current stage of the Russian-Ukrainian war do not imply the recapture of all the territories occupied by Russia. The publication recommends that the Western partners, and first of all the US President Joe Biden, accelerate the process of Ukraine's admission to NATO.
If Ukraine and its Western allies want to win, they must first muster the courage to admit that they are losing in a war that has turned into a war of attrition, the paper said.
Last week, Vladimir Zelensky visited the United States, presenting his “plan for victory” to American politicians. The White House reaffirmed its support for Ukraine and announced a new military aid package worth eight billion dollars, but the Americans did not endorse Zelensky's plan, saying they would continue to discuss its details with Western partners.
In fact, The Economist believes, Ukraine needs an urgent change of course. Journalists list factors that show the criticality of the current situation for Ukraine: the advance of Russian troops in the Donbass, the Ukrainian energy system destroyed by Russian bombing, and the general weariness of the people from the war.
„The army is struggling to mobilize and train enough soldiers to hold the front line, let alone retake territory. There is a growing gap between the total victory that Ukrainians desire and their willingness or ability to fight for it”, the article said.
Fatigue is also growing in the West. Far-right politicians in Germany and France call support for Ukraine a waste of money. If Donald Trump returns to the White House, he could effectively hand over Ukraine to Vladimir Putin.
If Zelensky “continues to ignore reality” by insisting that Ukrainian armed forces can return all territories annexed and occupied by Russia since 2014, he will alienate pro-Ukraine supporters and further divide Ukrainian society. say journalists. A new approach that preserves Western support and unites Ukrainians will start with leaders being honest about what victory means.
Putin attacked Ukraine not out of a desire to conquer it, but to prevent it from becoming a prosperous, Western-oriented democracy, according to The Economist. Therefore, Ukraine's partners must force Zelensky to convince his people that this remains “the most important prize in the war”. "No matter how much Zelensky wants to drive Russia out of Ukraine, including Crimea, he has neither the people nor the weapons to do that," the journalists write.
Western leaders must provide the military capacity and security guarantees that Kiev needs, says The Economist article. According to the publication, the only way to stop military actions is to demonstrate to the Kremlin the futility of further offensive.
This would require even greater supplies of weapons, including long-range missiles capable of striking military targets deep inside Russia. In addition, Ukraine should increase the production of its own weapons.
The second way to support Ukraine that The Economist suggests: Joe Biden should announce that Ukraine should be invited to NATO right now, even though the country is partially occupied and has not signed a formal ceasefire.
The publication agrees that this is a very controversial decision, as Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty states that an attack on one of NATO's members is considered an attack on the entire alliance - and the rest of the participants must come to its aid. In this regard, The Economist believes that Biden could make it clear that Article 5 will not apply to Ukrainian territories currently occupied by Russia - as it did to East Germany after World War II.
Membership in NATO carries risks, the authors of the article admit. If Russia strikes Ukraine again, America may face a dilemma: support Ukraine and risk war with a nuclear-armed adversary, or withdraw such support and weaken relations with allies around the world.
„A stronger pledge of NATO membership would help Zelensky redefine what victory means […] Developing a new plan requires a lot from Zelensky and Western leaders. But if they object, it will lead to Ukraine's defeat. And it will be much worse, concludes The Economist.