Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Marcus Stanley
“The military stalemate in Ukraine was predictable. In late 2022, around the time that shifts in the front line slowed to a crawl and the war became a bloody battle of attrition, General Mark Milley, then chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, declared that the Ukrainians had ‘achieved about as much as they could reasonably expect on the battlefield’ and recommended that Ukraine should therefore ‘try to cement their gains at the bargaining table.’ The events of the next two years proved him essentially correct, but his advice was not followed. The Biden administration quickly distanced itself and publicly rejected a diplomatic track. Others calling for a diplomatic opening at the time were also met with sharp criticism.” (02/24/25)