Eric and Eliot welcome Australian MG (ret.) Mick Ryan to the show to discuss his new book, The War For Ukraine: Strategy and Adaptation under Fire (Naval Institute Press, 2024).
Near the end, Gen. Ryan says, "Now, they've totally abrogated their responsibilities in . . . saying we want Ukraine to win. I still haven't heard any politician to say that. . . . I think the problem Ukraine really has at the moment is, too many leaders are more afraid of Russia losing than Ukraine losing. And that is both a strategic and a moral problem in Western leadership at the moment is: one, we don't know how to win; and secondly, we haven't decided we want to win. And until we do that, I think Ukraine is going to continue to have problems."
I think that sums up why Ukraine has not yet won this war: Western leaders, particularly the Biden administration, do not really want Ukraine to win. They have an inordinate fear of what might happen if Russia were to lose, and therefore they have kept a leash on Ukraine to prevent that outcome.
Near the end, Gen. Ryan says, "Now, they've totally abrogated their responsibilities in . . . saying we want Ukraine to win. I still haven't heard any politician to say that. . . . I think the problem Ukraine really has at the moment is, too many leaders are more afraid of Russia losing than Ukraine losing. And that is both a strategic and a moral problem in Western leadership at the moment is: one, we don't know how to win; and secondly, we haven't decided we want to win. And until we do that, I think Ukraine is going to continue to have problems."
I think that sums up why Ukraine has not yet won this war: Western leaders, particularly the Biden administration, do not really want Ukraine to win. They have an inordinate fear of what might happen if Russia were to lose, and therefore they have kept a leash on Ukraine to prevent that outcome.