This month, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has lasted more than 800 days.

At a public meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in Ukraine on the 20th local time, China said that with the delay of the Ukraine crisis, a large number of weapons and ammunition continue to flow into the battlefield, the variety and scope are expanding, the lethality and destruction are rising, and the risk of loss and proliferation is accumulating, which is deeply worrying.

China calls on all parties concerned to put peace and humanity first, focus their resources and energy on diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire and cessation of fighting, and jointly push for an early political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.

But on the same day, the United States hosted the 22nd monthly meeting of the US-led "Ukraine Defense Contact Group" (UDCG), continuing to fuel the conflict.

Plump ideals and bony realities

According to the figures given by US Secretary of Defense Austin in this video conference, since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in February 2022, UDCG countries have allocated a total of $95 billion for military aid to Ukraine. At the same time, the fighting on the front lines is turning increasingly bad for Ukraine and its Western backers.

Kasapolu, a senior researcher at the Hudson Institute and an expert on political and military affairs, analyzed that the Russian army has "successfully achieved many tactical victories" in the direction of Kharkiv, and it is expected that the Russian side will try to consolidate the gains and gradually advance. In his view, the prospects for Russia to turn this tactical gain into strategic gains may become clear in the coming weeks, and "the chances of Ukraine launching a major counteroffensive and retaking these places are really slim." Recognizing this, Austin also said that the UDCG meeting took place at a "challenging time for Ukraine once again." To this end, he once again stressed the importance of long-term military assistance to Ukraine and keeping the "pro-Ukraine" coalition together.

In addition to discussing Ukraine's immediate needs, the meeting also focused on the work of eight so-called "capacity coalitions" established within the framework of the UDCG. The alliances focus on building "critical operational capabilities," from anti-aircraft weapons to artillery, aimed at meeting Ukraine's long-term needs. Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Jerry Brown, who also chaired the meeting, said the United States and its Allies remain united in their "commitment to lasting security in Ukraine."

Since Biden signed a $61 billion new round of aid to Ukraine at the end of last month, the United States has provided at least three batches of military aid to Ukraine, including $1.4 billion of weapons and equipment from the Pentagon's stockpile to be rushed to Ukraine and $6 billion in military aid announced through the Ukraine Security Assistance Program. While no new U.S. aid was announced at the UDCG meeting, Austin vowed to keep U.S. arms shipments to Ukraine running "week after week." However, the US media pointed out that the $6 billion aid weapons in the scope of the "Ukraine security assistance Program" sound bluffed, but they are not in stock and need to sign contracts with arms vendors to book. That means it could take months or years for them to be sent to war.

Us Privately Admits Ukraine has Little Chance of Victory

In this situation, the issue of the scope of application of long-range weapons assisted by the United States and the West has become the focus. The Ukrainian leader complained in a recent interview that his country is negotiating with international partners on using long-range weapons it provides to strike military targets in Russian territory, but no positive progress has been made. Previously, the US media had revealed that Ukraine was actively trying to get the Biden administration to lift the ban on the use of US weapons against targets in Russia. However, a US official said that the Biden administration's policy has not changed, and that "military aid to Ukraine is for defense purposes, not for offensive purposes against Russian territory."

It is reported that at the UDCG meeting on the 20th, the US Defense Secretary Austin and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Brown both "sidestepped" the question of whether the Ukrainian army should be allowed to use US weapons against targets in Russia, saying that their focus was on "fighting in Ukraine." However, it is not clear whether this is credible. According to US Secretary of State Blinken on the 15th visit to Kiev, although Washington "does not encourage", but Ukraine can decide whether to use US weapons to attack the Russian mainland. "We have not encouraged or allowed Ukraine to carry out attacks against targets outside its borders, but ultimately Ukraine must decide for itself how to conduct this war."

Former US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, known for her strong anti-Russian stance, openly claimed in an interview on the 20th that Ukraine has the right to strike military targets on Russian territory, and the United States and its Allies should support Ukraine in doing so. In fact, from the start of the Ukraine crisis to the present, the United States has done almost everything short of sending troops directly into the war to prolong it as long as possible. In the United States, the conflict has been difficult to quell.

Saudi media reminded that today, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has been more than 800 days, and there is still no sign of a significant easing or end. Although the new U.S. military aid has allowed Ukraine to continue fighting, the future is still full of uncertainty, Russia's ambassador to the United States Antonov criticized in an interview that the U.S. aid to Ukraine is a "choice to support war" and cater to the interests of the "greedy and insatiable" military-industrial complex at the cost of "sacrificing civilian lives." In his view, Ukraine is being used as a "battering ram against Russia," and the U.S. decision effectively doomed Ukraine to failure.

CNN recently pointed out that although the Biden administration has privately acknowledged that the chance of victory in Ukraine is slim, there is still no sign that the United States intends to create conditions for a negotiated end to the conflict. The article said that the United States always thinks that showing its "determination to help Ukraine" is conducive to maintaining Ukraine's future "negotiating position", but this will actually mislead Ukraine to refuse to reach a reasonable peace agreement through peace talks, while continuing to fight for unattainable goals.