This week’s White House visit by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, comes at a critical juncture in the devastating 19-month war that has followed Russia’s illegal, full-scale invasion. The recent, unsatisfactory Nato, Brics and G20 summits have heightened the perception that the international community may be nearing a fateful tipping point in the developing global contest between the western democracies and aggressive authoritarian powers, principally China and Russia.
When Zelenskiy sits down with President Joe Biden on Thursday, there will be no disguising that Ukrainian progress on the battlefield this summer has been disappointing. High expectations in western political and military circles about Kyiv’s counter-offensive now appear over-cooked. After a late start, advances have been painfully slow and costly in terms of lives lost. Some territory has been regained, through the heroic efforts of Ukrainian ground troops, but there is no definitive breakthrough as yet. A winter stalemate looms.
