US and Allies Preparing to Support an Open-Ended Conflict in Ukraine

The US and its allies are worried that Ukraine’s stalled counteroffensive means the war between Russian and Ukrainian forces will be an open-ended conflict, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

The report said the US was hoping Ukraine would regain some territory and that would pave the way for a negotiated settlement, although the US has discouraged diplomacy throughout the war. “My hope is and my expectation is you’ll see that Ukraine makes significant progress on their offensive and it generates a negotiated settlement somewhere along the line,” President Biden said in Helsinki earlier this month.

But without significant Ukrainian gains, the West is preparing to support the proxy war against Russia for years to come. “The only real response is an industrial mobilization that will give Ukrainians, and the Russians, a clear message that the Ukrainians will always have plenty of what they need,” an unnamed Western diplomat told the Journal.