Time may be Ukraine’s biggest ally in the war against Putin, writes djrothkopf
How long is a night when you are huddled beneath a blanket on a subway station floor, holding your baby in your arms as missiles and bombs reduce the city over your head to rubble?Time means something different in a war zone. It is more precious, more tortuous, more valuable and more treacherous.
When I spoke recently to a senior U.S. State Department official about the war in Ukraine, time was at the center of every point he made. It was the secret weapon of the Ukrainians and the greatest challenge they and their allies faced. Over time sanctions against the Russians would cause increasing pain. Over time mounting losses in Ukraine would generate ever greater opposition to Putin within his own country.
The official, a thoughtful, experienced national security hand, emphasized to me that we have to find a way to have patience. And he acknowledged the Russians knew that and that is why they were so determined to escalate attacks, to destroy cities, to inflict more pain on civilians. Because they knew that only if they did that they might force Ukraine to the negotiating table on favorable terms.
that a lightning strike against Ukraine by Russia’s massive, well-equipped army would produce instant victory. Major cities would be taken. The government would be decapitated and replaced. Russia’s might would intimidate Ukrainians and their neighbors into future capitulation to the whims of the dictator in the Kremlin.
But here we are approaching the four- week mark in this conflict and it is clear that did not happen. Russia has taken none of Ukraine’s major cities. Its blitzkrieg got stuck in the mud and taken apart by committed, resourceful, increasingly well-equipped Ukrainian troops.
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