WSJ: Ukraine’s stalled counteroffensive puts Biden in uneasy political position

Some Western officials have said that the slow pace of Ukraine’s counteroffensive against entrenched Russian invaders is dimming hopes that negotiations for an end to the fighting could come this year and raising the spectre of an open-ended conflict.

“A potential stalemate would test President Biden’s stated strategy of pouring billions of dollars in military aid into Ukraine, to enable Kyiv to negotiate with Russia from a position of strength. It could also challenge the West’s continuing ability to supply weaponry that is already in short supply and provide political fodder to those opposing US support for the war,” The Wall Street Journal quotes the officials as saying.

“Obviously it’s easier to provide more support when things are going well,” said John Herbst, a former US ambassador to Ukraine and an advocate of expanding military assistance to Kyiv. But the Biden administration doesn’t have much choice other than to continue providing weapons, he said.

Backing away from Ukraine and allowing even a partial Russian victory “would be the signature failure of Biden foreign policy that would dwarf the Afghan withdrawal,” added Herbst, who is now at the Washington-based Atlantic Council think tank.

The US stay-the-course strategy holds some risks, however. Biden has staked his foreign policy credentials on a conflict that he describes as a battle between democracy and authoritarianism. He has directed more than $43 billion in security assistance to Kyiv but is facing challenges in Congress from some members of the Republican Party.

Last week, 13 Senate Republicans backed an amendment to the annual defence spending bill that would have limited the availability of funds for Ukraine. The amendment failed, and support for Ukraine remains strong among other Republicans in Congress.