Why 'confident' Ukraine still has a good chance of victory: conservative

22 May 2023

Washington Post opinion columnist and Never Trump conservative Max Boot has returned to the United States after a week in Kyiv, Ukraine. Boot visited the war-torn country with a delegation from the Renew Democracy Initiative, taking a train in from Warsaw, Poland — which is also how President Joe Biden got to Kyiv during his surprise visit in February.

In his May 22 column, Boot stresses that he left Ukraine feeling optimistic about its chances of prevailing in its war with Russia — especially if the United States and its democratic European allies continue to offer their support.

"I concluded that the Ukrainians' determination to prevail against heavy odds was not only laudable, but also, eminently sensible," Boot writes. "Ukrainians have taken the worst that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has dished out, and they have not only survived, but also, thrived."

The Post columnist adds, "Kyiv does not feel like a city under siege. It is a bustling, vibrant metropolis with traffic jams and crowded bars and restaurants. Mayor Vitali Klitschko told us that its population, which had been 3.8 million before the war, is now back to 3.6 million — albeit including 300,000 refugees from war-torn parts of Ukraine."

Boot notes that although "burned out buildings" are plentiful in Kyiv's northern suburbs, the damage from Russian attacks is "hard to find inside the city limits."

"Little wonder that Ukrainians don't talk about what will happen 'after the war,'" the conservative observes. "They talk about what will happen 'after the victory.' That's how confident they are…. The Ukrainians have already far outperformed expectations, and there is no reason they cannot continue to do so — as long as the West continues to give them the unstinting support they need, expect and deserve."

Find Max Boot's entire Washington Post column at this link (subscription required).

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