While that was absolutely the original intent, I do think the west has got itself in a very difficult situation here. There’s no clear path to exist Ukraine that’s not going to be an utter debacle. The US will likely cut and run as they always do, but that will have huge repercussions for NATO since at that point it will be exposed as a paper tiger. We’re also seeing the political environment in Europe shifting away from Atlanticism as a result of the war. The economic situation in Europe is dire, and with US leaving them holding the bag that’s only gonna make things worse.

NYT just dropped a couple of bombshells, first is that the US now admits that the war is not a stalemate

American military and intelligence officials have concluded that the war in Ukraine is no longer a stalemate as Russia makes steady gains, and the sense of pessimism in Kyiv and Washington is deepening.

https://archive.is/avbh1

and they’ve provided a surprisingly sober assessment of how Russia used attrition to break the AFU

But the stalemate that defined 2023 laid the groundwork for Russia’s recent progress. However marginal the gains, Russia’s attacks gradually weakened the Ukrainian army to the point where its troops are so stretched that they can no longer hold some of their positions, Ukrainian soldiers and military analysts say.

Half of Russia’s territorial gains in Ukraine so far this year were made in the past three months alone, according to Pasi Paroinen, a military expert with the Finland-based Black Bird Group. “The situation in southeastern Donbas rapidly deteriorates,” he said.

https://archive.is/2024.11.01-002051/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/10/31/world/europe/russia-gains-ukraine-maps.html

Given that it’s now clear that Russia has won the war, it’s not clear what options NATO has on the table.