Balancing Pressure and Support: Navigating Ukraine's Long War

A former Army general, Ben Hodges, has warned that too much Western pressure on Ukraine to deliver a decisive blow against Russia could tank the much-anticipated counteroffensive. Hodges rejected the idea that Ukraine only has one shot and that aid to Ukraine will disappear if the offensive underperforms. He argued that Western countries should be assisting Ukraine to preserve international rules-based order, respect for sovereignty, transparency, and human rights on a global level. Military experts are cautiously optimistic about Ukraine's prospects heading into its counteroffensive, especially given Russia's weakened, disorganized forces and Ukraine's "superior" willpower.