I apologize, but this New York Times editorial is simply too juicy. I must quote another excerpt:
The United States and NATO have demonstrated that they will support the Ukrainian fight with ample firepower and other means. And however the fighting ends, the United States and its allies must be prepared to help Ukraine rebuild.
But as the war continues, Mr. Biden should also make clear to President Volodymyr Zelensky and his people that there is a limit to how far the United States and NATO will go to confront Russia, and limits to the arms, money and political support they can muster. It is imperative that the Ukrainian government's decisions be based on a realistic assessment of its means and how much more destruction Ukraine can sustain.
Confronting this reality may be painful, but it is not appeasement. This is what governments are duty bound to do, not chase after an illusory "win." Russia will be feeling the pain of isolation and debilitating economic sanctions for years to come, and Mr. Putin will go down in history as a butcher. The challenge now is to shake off the euphoria, stop the taunting and focus on defining and completing the mission.In my opinion, the import of this article is quite big. It's one thing for Kissinger to share his opinions as elder statesman, or for Draghi and Macron to make noises about the need for a settlement. There is a reason Ukrainians have reacted so angrily at this article, and that's it become more or less the primary focus of their commentators when discussing concerning developments this past week.
We have had adviser to Zelenskiy and propagandist extraordinaire, Arestovich, issue a profanity laced rant, and then Ukraine's own newspaper of record issuing an official rebuttal as it's own editorial. Link to rebuttal here: eurointegration.com.ua/rus/articles/2022/05/25/7139970/
Finally, Zelensky himself mentioned the Times article today, and accused the editorial board of living in 1938.
The reason people in Ukraine are worried is that I think they understand that the Times, as much as the Journal does for GOP elites, sets the tone for much of the discussion on the establishment Dem side. Biden cannot simply ignore it when the main media outlet, from his camp, is saying he has been insufficiently clear in spelling out what the mission is. IMHO this is much more important than the musings of individual senators or congressmen, who are being drowned out by the war hawks on both sides of the aisle.