Asia Times concludes that Ukraine – and therefore the USA and NATO – is going to lose the war with Russia:
There’s a notion floating around the Internet that the current conflict in Ukraine is going to remain a static war of attrition that will bleed the Russian army dry. So what if it decimates Ukraine’s society and eradicates most of its population? At least the dreaded Russian war machine will have been ground to a halt in the killing fields of Ukraine.
Those believing this narrative are living in a fantasy.
Fact is, the Ukrainian military is drained, the Western supply chains are strained, and the NATO stockpiles of critical weapons and ammunition are depleted. The war is transitioning, therefore, into a conflict in which the Russian side will enjoy several critical advantages.
For those under the impression that the attritional warfare will lead to a negotiated settlement: Fat chance!
Moscow is now totally all-in on this conflict. The window of opportunity to have gotten a settlement is closed. Unless Russia loses significantly soon (which it does not appear to be in danger of, if the Battle of Bakhmut is any indication), the Russians’ numerical superiority over Ukraine’s force structure alone will ensure that they achieve the victory they’ve been waiting for.
The outcome of this war, a defeat for Ukraine and its NATO backers, was totally avoidable. Sensing the weakness of the West – and the fact that they’re woefully overextended – the Russians are going to use all means to break Ukraine and subdue it. The beginning of the end is likely happening right now…
I don’t think the NATO-Russian war is going to end anytime soon. Its continuance not only suits most of the parties involved, it suits the most important global player, which is to say, China. Everyone, on all sides, is hoping to buy time before the next stage in the conflict, ergo, there is no need to rush things.
Until, of course, NATO runs out of Ukrainian men to feed into the slaughter.