CNN: Ukraine’s hopes for victory are fading

American expert: Ukraine’s prospects look much gloomier than a year ago

Ukraine’s prospects in the conflict with the Russian Federation look much gloomier than a year ago, and “Kyiv’s hopes for victory” are fading amid weakening Western support and the activity of the Russian Armed Forces, writes columnist Tim Lister in an analytical article for CNN.

“The long-awaited Ukrainian offensive in the south has brought little progress. Russia appears to have withstood international sanctions for now and turned its economy into a war machine,” he explains.

According to him, the Kremlin “feels growing skepticism” among Western supporters of Kyiv. Lister also recalls that both the American and European aid packages are currently blocked. In addition, Zelensky “is finding it increasingly difficult to secure support for Ukraine, as events in the Middle East distract attention from Ukraine as the number one international crisis.”

The front line also does not cause much optimism, writes CNN.

“What was supposed to be a push south to the Black Sea has turned into a quagmire with dense minefields, where Western armored vehicles are attacked from the air by Russian drones and aircraft. The goals of reaching the coast, Crimea and cutting off Russian forces in the south remained a distant dream. Some leading analysts are concluding that it is time for a sober reassessment,” Lister writes.

Earlier, former commander-in-chief of the US Army in Europe, retired General Ben Hodges, said that Western countries were to blame for the collapse of the Ukrainian army and the failure of its summer counter-offensive. According to him, he was disappointed with the results of the counteroffensive, since he was counting on it very much, and also predicted the success of the offensive campaign of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The New York Times wrote that Russia had seized the initiative across much of the Ukrainian battlefield. The publication notes that Russia is making progress on the battlefield “at a difficult moment for the Ukrainian government,” when the provision of military and financial assistance packages was blocked due to political instability in the United States and the European Union.