According to the NYT, some US military officials are proposing a new strategy for Ukraine: focus on holding onto the territories it controls and developing its weapon-producing capabilities through 2024.
The US believes this strategy will improve Ukraine’s self-sufficiency and help Kyiv repel any new Russian offensive. The strategy is designed to create a sufficiently substantial military threat that would force the Russian Federation to consider participating in meaningful negotiations at the end of next year or in 2025.
According to American officials, Ukraine may lose the war without a new strategy and additional funding. Administration officials say President Putin is betting on a reduction in American support, pointing to his recent statements that if Ukraine runs out of NATO-provided ammunition, Russia will win within days. The publication writes that many Ukrainian leaders do not realize how unstable the war’s further financing by the US is.