David Silbey

Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy

David Silbey, associate professor of history at Cornell University, specializes in military history, defense policy and battlefield analysis. He says the sustainability of Ukraine’s efforts is uncertain without Western support.

Silbey says:

“Zelenskyy is arriving at a difficult time for Ukraine. The much-touted offensive that was supposed to use Western weapons and methods to sweep the Russians out of eastern Ukraine has bogged down into a WWI-style slugging match where thousands of lives are being traded for yards of terrain.

“At the same time, the West is shifting its attention to the situation in the Middle East and deprioritizing Eastern Europe. Worse, support for Ukraine has become a partisan political issue in the United States, bogging aid down in the endless political fights between Republicans and Democrats.

“Without that Western aid, Ukraine’s ability to continue fighting is deeply in question.  They simply don’t have the resources to build the massive amount of munitions needed to continue fighting. Zelenskyy is talking for his life and his country’s.”