Commentary: Pessimism is growing in Ukraine. Has the war with Russia reached a stalemate?

Last August, more than two months after Ukraine began its counteroffensive against Russian positions in the east, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan was asked about whether the war was degenerating into a stalemate. Sullivan’s answer: no. “We do not assess that the conflict is a stalemate,” he said at the time. “We are seeing (Ukraine) continue to take territory on a methodical, systematic basis.”

Fast-forward to today, and the cautious optimism cited by U.S. officials has largely turned into worry — worry that Ukraine’s counteroffensive has stalled; worry that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be able