It’s Time to End Magical Thinking About Russia’s Defeat
Putin has withstood the West’s best efforts to reverse his invasion of Ukraine, and his hold on power is firm. The U.S. and its allies need a new strategy: containment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin at a National Unity Day ceremony in Moscow, Nov. 4. Almost two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Putin has reason to believe time is on his side. PHOTO: MIKHAIL METZEL/SPUTNIK/ASSOCIATED PRESS
By Eugene Rumer and Andrew S. Weiss
Nov. 16, 2023 10:00 am ET
As Russian President Vladimir Putin looks toward the second anniversary of his all-out assault on Ukraine, his self-confidence is hard to miss. A much-anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive has not achieved the breakthrough that would give Kyiv a strong hand to negotiate. Tumult in the Middle East dominates the headlines, and bipartisan support for Ukraine in the U.S. has been upended by polarization and dysfunction in Congress, not to mention the pro-Putin leanings of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump.
Putin has reason to believe that time is on his side. At the front line, there are no indications that Russia is losing what has become a war of attrition. The Russian economy has been buffeted, but it is not in tatters. Putin’s hold on power was, paradoxically, strengthened following Yevgeny Prigozhin’s failed rebellion in June. Popular support for the war remains solid, and elite backing for Putin has not fractured.
Putin has withstood the West’s best efforts to reverse his invasion of Ukraine, and his hold on power is firm. The U.S. and its allies need a new strategy: containment.
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Ukraine's Security Service launches investigation into device in 'potential' office of Commander-in-Chief
SUNDAY, 17 DECEMBER 2023, 22:15
The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has stated that a technical device which was out of order was found in one of the potential locations of Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief. A criminal investigation has been opened.
Quote: "The Security Service of Ukraine has opened a criminal investigation further to the discovery of a technical device in one of the potential locations of Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Proceedings have been initiated under Article 359.2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal acquisition, sale or use of special technology for obtaining information).
We emphasise that the equipment was not found in Valerii Zaluzhnyi's office, but in one of the places that he could have used for work in the future.
According to preliminary information, the device was not in working order. No storage devices or means of remote audio transmission were found. This technical device will be submitted for expert examination."
Background: Earlier, Ukrainska Pravda sources reported that bugging devices had been found in the offices of Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, and some of his colleagues. The room was to have been the Commander-in-Chief’s new office and was being inspected before he moved into it.