A ‘Stalemate’ in Ukraine

Written by Anthony Constantini

What’s happening: General Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, recently indicated the Russian war against Ukraine has stalemated. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushed back against his general, but a study revealed almost no land has changed hands on either side for the past year. Ukraine has only re-taken about 10 miles of territory.

Why it matters: It will be harder for Ukraine to get aid from Western leaders who have reportedly pushed Ukraine to imagine what a realistic peace deal might look like. Other decisions, like Ukraine delaying elections, will come under tougher scrutiny from allies.

• The numbers: America has given Ukraine more than $113 billion in aid. But Gallup recently found that 61% of Americans believe there should be a limit to taxpayer aid for Ukraine, and a plurality believe America has already given too much.

No elections: Zelenskyy has said it’s “not the right time” for elections, even though Western pressure to hold elections has been growing in recent months. Zelenskyy has argued doing so would be difficult in wartime, but allies fear that it will be hard to sell Ukraine as defending democracy.

No peace deal?: Zelenskyy has denied that anyone is pressing Ukraine to deal with Russia and has instead pressed forward with his own 10-point peace plan. But the plan — involving the return of all of Ukraine’s territory and Russia paying for all damage caused by the war — is highly unlikely to ever be carried out.