Anne Applebaum: It’s Only When Russians Conclude that They Can’t Win that They Will Stop the War

EXCERPT:

APPLEBAUM: “I would also draw your attention to something he said a little bit later, getting onto Air Force One yesterday. He said, I don't think he's going to go back on his word about Putin. He said, you're talking about Putin and I've known him for a long time. So I would have some, you know, some doubts about whether this is the case. I mean, it is, of course, true that the Russians are blocking a ceasefire, they don't want one. They still think they're going to win the war, either militarily or through diplomacy. And, you know, as Richard Haass says, the only real answer to this, the only -- the only one that makes any sense is to present them with, you know, an unshakable, you know, decision with us and our allies to continue supporting Ukraine so that the Russians don't win. And it's only when they conclude that they can't win that they'll stop the war.”