As each day passes, the future of Ukraine becomes increasingly uncertain (“Zelenskyy is behaving like Winston Churchill,” Nov.6, Gulf Today website). The recent outbreak of the conflict has overshadowed President Zelensky’s appeals to the United States and the European Union. The upcoming American presidential election and the potential for Trump’s re-election will further complicate the situation. Based on Russia’s war strategy, it’s evident that they don’t necessarily need to conquer all of Ukraine, but rather force the neighbouring country to the negotiation table to secure certain commitments, such as abandoning NATO membership dreams permanently. The failure of Ukraine would represent a failure for both the EU and the USA.

Ukraine underestimated Russia and is now paying a heavy price for it. If Ukraine had confronted Russia with the same determination when they annexed Crimea in 2014, the current outcome would likely have been different.

Girish R Edathitta,
Kerala, India