Putin needs time, the United States and European countries need more support for Ukraine
(Yoshihisa Komori: Sankei Shimbun Washington Resident Correspondent, Distinguished Professor at Reitaku University)
“If the fighting in Ukraine continues as it is now, the tide will turn in favor of Russian President Vladimir Putin,” the former US secretaries of state and defense said.
Both former top officials had direct contact with Putin during their tenures. Based on that experience, Putin sees the conquest of Ukraine as his historic mission to restore the Russian empire, and is prepared to wait for the waning of US and European support for Ukraine over time. .
Officials argued that to break this bleak vision, the United States and others would need to increase military aid to Ukraine and that Ukrainian forces would quickly inflict heavy casualties on Russian forces.
Proposals based on direct negotiations with Putin
Former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former US Defense Secretary Robert Gates jointly published an opinion piece titled “The weather is not favoring Ukraine” on Jan. 7 in the Washington Post.
The prospect of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, if the current state of war continues, is in favor of Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was a proposal that the Ukrainian side launch a large-scale military offensive as soon as possible to break the situation and inflict heavy damage on the Russian side.
