Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is on the offensive.
First, he ordered Ukrainian forces to take their fight for survival to Kursk, inside Russia.
In September, At the United NationsZelensky intends to take aim at the Harris-Biden administration’s absurd Groundhog Day strategy of endless and futile defense in Ukraine.
Staying on the defensive forever is no longer an option.
Ukraine wants to win, and Zelensky is clamoring for President Biden's approval.
But the issue is complicated: Biden is a lame-duck president who appears to have essentially put the U.S. on autopilot for the remainder of his term.
Zelensky acknowledged this and announced that he would present the plan to Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
But ending the war in Ukraine is not a top priority for either country.
So Zelensky feels the need to make his case directly to the American people in the midst of a presidential election cycle that has put Ukraine on the back burner.
He plans to visit New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly. Like Gettysburg A “bayonet-raising” moment for the Ukrainian leadership.
He has the Kremlin cornered and knows the time has come to extend his advantages: momentum, initiative and strategy.
All President Zelensky needs is American weapons systems, the authority to use them, and American backbone to make the deal happen.
Winston Churchill is said to have often said, “Americans can always be trusted to do the right thing, after they have exhausted all other possibilities.” Zelensky seeks to challenge this notion.
As Russian President Putin's “special military operation” enters its 31st month, the United States and NATO Strategy to “Weaken Russia” Defending Ukraine was ineffective.
The war left more than 612,390 Russian casualties, according to Ukrainian figures, but it also left thousands of Ukrainian civilians dead or wounded and left a landscape of devastation reminiscent of World War I.
The Kremlin will simply strengthen its fighting capabilities, secure weapons and ammunition from the “arsenals of evil” in Iran, North Korea and Belarus, and invade Ukraine again.
Putin's only goal is to keep feeding the “meat grinder” and achieve his goal of destroying Ukraine, no matter how long it takes.
The Harris-Biden administration's approach to restricting U.S. weapons, and those of other NATO nations, for defensive purposes only is a failed one.
The war continues to escalate as Western nations cling to the idea of some kind of negotiated outcome. Allow Washington Politico reported that the move was “to reset relations with Moscow.”
The report said “certain actors within the administration” believe lifting the restrictions on Ukraine “could reverse these efforts.”
But Hillary Clinton's attempt at a Russia reset failed in 2009, and this attempt will fail again in 2024.
Russia has no intention of leaving Ukraine voluntarily, and Zelensky Not ceding territory They call for peace mediated by the United States.
The US cannot repair its relationship with Moscow. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Putin on suspicion of war crimes.
Former NATO commander and retired Air Force General Philip Breedlove said: Explained the situation“This war will end the way Western policymakers have decided. If we continue doing what we are doing now, Ukraine will ultimately lose, because now we are deliberately not giving Ukraine what it needs to win.”
Ukraine is in a position to win.
The US has seized the initiative, leveraging Russia's success in Kursk Oblast while fending off a relentless human wave offensive in Donbas and continuing to make Crimea untenable for Russian forces — all without the loss of a single American or NATO life.
Sometimes we need a winner, not a new truce.
What is needed is a solution, not a long-term “frozen conflict.”
Now is the time for Washington to stand firm with President Zelensky and his generals and bring this war to a just end.
In the absence of Biden’s own plan for winning the war or a clear definition of victory, the Harris-Biden administration would be well served to listen to Zelensky’s proposals and act on them.
Ukraine deserves a Yorktown moment.
Retired Col. Jonathan Sweet served as a military intelligence officer for 30 years. Mark Toth writes about national security and foreign policy.
