The US government is discussing options under which the Russian-Ukrainian war could turn from its current hot stage into another frozen conflict.
Source. Politico writes about this with reference to anonymous sources in the White House.
According to the publication, the Biden administration is talking about freezing the conflict more and more often. Such a conflict will last for many years, perhaps decades, like the confrontation on the Korean Peninsula.
Earlier, discussions of such a scenario took place in various American agencies and in the White House, the article says. Among the issues being discussed in the Biden administration in the event of a long-term "freeze" is where the unofficial borders that Ukraine and Russia would agree not to cross would be located.
This scenario, the White House believes, may prove to be the most realistic in the long run, given that neither Kyiv nor Moscow is going to admit defeat.
A frozen conflict, in which hostilities cease but neither side is declared a winner and neither side accepts an official end to the war, could be a politically acceptable outcome for the United States and other countries that support Ukraine, Politico believes.
This would mean that the number of military clashes and the cost of supporting Kyiv would decrease, and public attention to the war would weaken.
"We're planning for the long term, no matter what it looks like," the publication quotes a US official familiar with the Biden administration's discussions on Ukraine. According to the official, such planning is now the focus of the administration's attention, while in the past months "everything was about immediate and short-term tasks."
Two other current and one former U.S. officials confirmed that a long-term freeze on hostilities is one of the options being considered in Washington.
Discussions are at an early stage, the sources emphasize. According to them, the war will continue for a long time and the Biden administration intends to provide Ukraine with weapons and other assistance to drive Russian troops out of as much territory as possible.
While many U.S. officials have avoided public discussions about how the Russian-Ukrainian conflict will develop, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, has repeatedly stated that the war will end sooner or later with peace talks rather than a military victory for one side.
According to a Pentagon spokesman, the amount of military equipment sent to Kyiv from U.S. arsenals has been steadily decreasing over the past few months, while aid packages through the purchase of new weapons from industry have increased.
Suggestions that Ukraine's Western partners are considering a frozen conflict have been met with a sharply negative reaction from the Ukrainian authorities. Kyiv, including President Zelensky, has repeatedly stated categorically that no negotiations with the Kremlin are possible until the last Russian soldier leaves the territory of Ukraine.