WASHINGTON, January 8. /TASS/. Without additional assistance from the United States, Ukraine may suffer defeat within the coming 12-18 months, Robert Kagan, an American political analyst and husband of former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, said in an article for The Atlantic magazine.

According to the columnist, if Ukraine falls, it will be hard to present it otherwise than as a failure of the United States and its president.

"Vice-president Elect J. D. Vance once said that he doesn’t care what happens to Ukraine. We will soon find out whether the American people share his indifference, because if there is not soon a large new infusion of aid from the United States, Ukraine will likely lose the war within the next 12 to 18 months," the piece reads.

Kagan believes that Ukraine will face "a complete defeat, a loss of sovereignty." According to the author, this poses an immediate problem for US President-elect Donald Trump. "He promised to settle the war quickly upon taking office, but now faces the hard reality <...>," the expert believes.

"Trump must now choose between accepting a humiliating strategic defeat on the global stage and immediately redoubling American support for Ukraine while there’s still time. The choice he makes in the next few weeks will determine not only the fate of Ukraine but also the success of his presidency," Kagan says.