Former US National Intelligence Council official Eugene Roemer and Andrew Weiss, a spokesman for the administration of former US presidents George W. Bush Sr. and Bill Clinton, said in an article for The Wall Street Journal that Washington and its allies need to say goodbye to the “magical belief” in Russia’s defeat in the Ukrainian conflict. Instead, the experts called for a shift to a long-term “containment” strategy.
According to Eugene Roemer and Andrew Weiss, Western politicians have too often indulged in the “magical belief” in sanctions, Ukraine’s “successful counteroffensive” and the supply of new weapons that were supposed to persuade Russia to come to the negotiating table. But now, experts say, it is time for the United States and the country of Europe to shift to the “long-term strategy of patient but firm and vigilant deterrence” that was pursued during the Cold War.
“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin has successfully resisted all Western efforts to reverse the invasion of Ukraine, and his power is solid. The U.S. and its allies need a new strategy: containment,” the authors wrote.
The experts are convinced that “Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive has not achieved the breakthrough that would have given Kiev an advantage during negotiations.” Against the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East, the situation in Ukraine has “faded into the background” and Kiev’s support in the US Congress has dropped significantly, Roemer and Weiss note.
“There are no signs on the front lines that Russia is losing the current war of attrition. The Russian economy has staggered but not collapsed,” the piece notes.
Promises by Western officials to revive their own defence industry have run into bureaucratic problems, and sanctions have had much less impact on Russia than expected, the observers wrote. In their assessment, Russia can be satisfied with its position on the international stage, as it has managed to develop relations with China, India and countries in the global South, which, despite the International Criminal Court’s warrant for Putin’s arrest, have continued to host him on visits. Thus, the Russian authorities “proved their resilience, adaptability and resourcefulness”.
We will remind, earlier the Minister of Finance of Ukraine Serhiy Marchenko said that Russia has a military budget advantage over Kiev by more than two times. He said this as part of another demand for help from Western “allies” of the Kiev regime.