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Today, the Russians are in a situation where, through their offensive operations, they can achieve almost nothing on the battlefield, while Ukraine’s successes are helping to create the conditions necessary to end the war.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said this in an interview with The Sunday Times, UATV English reports.
According to Vance, when he studied the war between Russia and Ukraine, it seemed obvious to him that, given the spread of drones and surveillance technologies, it made more sense for Ukraine to dig in on its positions and exhaust Russia, rather than launch costly offensive operations aimed at retaking occupied territories.
“If we recall the summer of 2023, the main subject of disputes then was the question of whether Ukraine should try to carry out a large-scale counteroffensive. Practically the entire Western world, including President Biden, was pressuring the Ukrainians to launch a large-scale counteroffensive, which, as it later turned out, became a strategic and tactical catastrophe,” Vance said.
The Trump administration, he added, leans toward the view that the Ukrainians, in parallel with negotiations, should focus as much as possible on defense.
“This approach has borne much more fruit, since it is easier to be on the defensive than on the offensive. This allowed the Ukrainians to make slightly better use of their tactical advantage. Frankly speaking, the Russians are now in a situation where what they can achieve through prolonged offensive operations is very small — and is approaching zero. This may well create the space we need in order to bring this matter to an end,” Vance said.
He added that the Russians are paying dearly for every square kilometer they capture. According to him, this is connected with the fact that the United States and NATO encouraged Ukraine to focus more on defense, which proved effective.
As a reminder, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after speaking with U.S. President Donald Trump, stated that there is a real prospect of ending the Russian-Ukrainian war.
At the end of June, Trump said that Zelenskyy is “doing pretty well” in the war with Russia. The U.S. State Department also stated that Ukraine currently has an advantage in the war.
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