"The Russians have zero offensive capabilities," - said US Vice-President J.D. Vance
In an interview with The Times, US Vice-President J.D. Vance spoke about Russia’s war against Ukraine and assessed the current situation on the front line.
According to Vance, Ukraine’s recent successes have created conditions that could bring the war closer to an end. He believes that Russia now finds itself in a situation where further offensive operations are yielding increasingly meagre results.
“Ukraine’s successes have put Russia in a position that could create the space needed to end this war,” said Vance.
He emphasised that Russian troops are paying a high price for every square kilometre of territory captured. In his view, the effectiveness of Ukraine’s defence is largely linked to a shift in the approach taken by the US and NATO.
Vance stated that the Donald Trump administration supports a strategy under which Ukraine should focus as much as possible on defence. He is convinced that this approach has yielded better results than attempts at a large-scale counter-offensive.
The US Vice-President also mentioned Ukraine’s counter-offensive in the summer of 2023. He said that at the time, most Western partners, including Joe Biden’s administration, supported the idea of a major offensive operation.
“Almost the entire Western world, including President Biden, was urging the Ukrainians to launch a large-scale counter-offensive, which, looking back, was a strategic and tactical disaster,” Vance stated.
He also noted that the proliferation of drones and modern surveillance technologies had significantly altered the nature of combat operations. In his view, under such conditions, it is more advantageous for Ukraine to wear down Russian forces on the defensive rather than conduct costly offensive operations to retake occupied territories.
Vens emphasised that negotiations between Ukraine and Russia remain difficult, as the parties have significant differences over territory and security issues.
