Russia Already Won the War

John Mearsheimer, Alexander Mercouris & Glenn Diesen

Russia has already won as the attrition rates shift increasingly in Russia’s favour. Russia’s army grows with voluntary recruitment, with the new troops equipped and trained properly before being sent to the front. A powerful army is built far away from the front lines, preparing for massive intensification and escalation. On the other side, the Ukrainian army relies excessively on forced conscription of troops who are poorly trained and receive few, if any breaks. NATO countries have emptied their military depots of weapons, and the US is attempting to pull away from the war. As Ukrainian forces are exhausted and overstretched, Russia opens new frontlines in the north. As the frontlines collapse, Russia intensifies its territorial conquests. Even though the situation goes from bad to worse for NATO and Ukraine, the Europeans and Zelensky still do not want to meet Russian demands and instead escalate in rhetoric and action. Self-delusion and desperation will likely produce a very dangerous situation in the weeks and months to come. Russia has seemingly lost belief in a diplomatic settlement and pursues a military solution in Ukraine, and prepares for a possible escalation to a direct war with NATO countries.