WASHINGTON, December 20. /TASS/. Washington could in the future pursue its own national interests, limiting support to Ukraine just like the previous US administration did earlier with Afghanistan, pulling its forces from the country, Harlan Ullman, a senior adviser at the Atlantic Council, said in an opinion piece in the Hill that was published on Tuesday.
"The US strategy, accepted de facto by NATO and the European Union, is to supply Ukraine with military and non-military aid sufficient for defense and survival but not necessarily enough to drive Russia from all or much of the territories it controls in Crimea and Donbas or to provoke an escalation by Moscow. While the possible transfer of a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine is a strong political signal, the tactical impact may be minimal," he said.
"Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, seem to have been given the authority to dictate terms for ending the war. But at some stage the US will act in its own interests, possibly as the [previous President Donald] Trump administration did in negotiating withdrawal from Afghanistan with the Taliban (banned in Russia) and not the Afghan government. And while the US and NATO are in firm agreement in supporting Ukraine, will that cohesion persist if the war continues indefinitely?" the analyst said.
According to Ullman, Ukraine’s strategy is to capture the new Russian territory. Kiev "is prepared to pay seemingly any price to achieve that aim."
"However, as winter sets in and the costs of nearly a year of war grow heavier, it is unclear how long this bravado can last if conditions deteriorate and both military and civilian supplies are exhausted," he said.
Ullman said extended military operations in Ukraine are the most likely scenario. He said the West needs to accelerate sending more precision weapons to Ukraine and guarantee it long-term support.
On February 24 Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine in response to a request for help by the heads of the Donbass republics. The West subsequently imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia and stepped up the shipment of weapons to Kiev, which are worth billions of dollars.