JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin Has Already Lost” – New York Times
“… If the fundamental purpose of [] Putin’s war was to keep Ukraine within Russia’s orbit — politically, culturally and economically — it has had the opposite effect. Ukraine’s leaders and citizens, particularly those from younger generations, have decided that their future lies with the West, not Russia [including in eastern Ukraine]. … [A]ny visitor to Ukraine’s eastern and southern front lines will encounter soldiers who speak to one another in Russian and may not even know Ukrainian[] [b]ut … see themselves as citizens of Ukraine committed to preventing Russia from subordinating their homeland …. The [EU], jolted into action by the invasion, summoned a common spirit in its support for Ukraine …. Equally important, Ukraine’s journey toward E.U. membership, for years fiercely opposed in Moscow, is now very much in train …. Then there’s NATO. … Russia’s assault on Ukraine impelled two more countries, Finland and Sweden, to seek NATO membership. Neither had shown the slightest inclination to sign up before the invasion and both have first-rate armies. … Russia’s attack jolted non-U.S. NATO countries into rethinking their longstanding aversion to boosting military expenditure. … Ukraine … is keen to join [NATO] … [and] will continue looking to NATO countries for help in training its soldiers, equipping its armed forces and building modern defense industries by signing agreements for technology transfers and joint production. Even a non-NATO Ukraine will not quite be nonaligned because of its substantial and increasing defense ties with the West. …”