EXPERT COMMENT
More than 500 days after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there are signs that some of Ukraine's supporters in the West want to prepare the ground for negotiations. Such a shift in policy would be catastrophic.
Looked at one way, since February 2022 the West has performed to an unprecedented degree over Ukraine, delivering previously unimaginable support to Ukraine's military, imposing stronger than ever sanctions on Russia, and presenting a largely united front.
Remarkably this alliance is still in place after 18 months, despite serious depletion of Western military stocks and rising energy bills for European voters.
Strong US leadership has been crucial, supplying some 70 per cent of Western military support to Ukraine. In contrast to his predecessor, President Joe Biden has trusted his intelligence services over Russian narratives. His visit to Kyiv in February 2023 was an act of personal and political bravery.
However, Biden's administration has always been determined to carefully calibrate its support. The US has delivered enough to prevent Russian victory, but not so much as to allow Russian defeat (and the subsequent potential - in its view - for nuclear escalation).
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