It appears that Vladimir Putin was right about Western support for Ukraine in their war against Russia. Putin believed from the start that NATO and the West didn’t have the stomach for a long conflict and would eventually fold and ask for terms from Russia.
“Our figures confirm the impression of a more hesitant donor attitude in recent months,” says the Germand-based Kiel Institute’s Christoph Trebesch, who heads the Ukraine Support Tracker. “Ukraine is increasingly dependent on a few core donors that continue to deliver substantial support, like Germany, the U.S., or the Nordic countries. Given the uncertainty over further U.S. aid, Ukraine can only hope for the EU to finally pass its long-announced 50 billion euro support package.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues to insist that before Ukraine stops fighting, they will recover “every single inch” of Ukrainian territory conquered by Russia. That’s a fool’s promise and given more to buck up his nation’s morale than anything else.
That said, Putin is not under pressure to strike a deal for peace. With no urgency, Putin can afford to stand back and allow Ukraine to wither on the vine as his…
Read the full article here