Commentary
The West’s wishful thinking that it could win a war against Russia using Ukraine as its proxy is coming to a close.
Western sanctions against Russia—initially predicted to bring the Russian economy to its knees—have backfired. Absent Russian resources, European economies are reeling while Russia’s economy, according to the IMF, has rebounded and is now growing faster than those of Germany or the UK.
The military end game is also in sight, the Rand Corporation concluded in a recent report, despite the “extent of NATO allies’ indirect involvement in the war [which] is breathtaking in scope. Support includes tens of billions of dollars’ worth of weapons and … billions of dollars monthly in direct budgetary support to Kyiv.”…