CNN: 'Russia is losing in Ukraine. China has noticed – Trump should too'
17 hours ago
- #Diplomacy
- #Ukraine-Russia War
- #Military Strategy
- Brett McGurk, a former senior national security official under four U.S. presidents, analyzes global affairs for CNN.
- Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly suggested to Donald Trump that Vladimir Putin may regret invading Ukraine, a view supported by current battlefield trends.
- Ukraine has achieved net territorial gains in 2026, while Russia suffers massive casualties—estimated at 30,000-40,000 per month—without corresponding territorial advances.
- Internal Russian pressures are growing, with parliamentary warnings about the economy's ability to sustain prolonged war and Putin hinting the conflict could be ending.
- Ukraine is reshaping warfare through mass-produced drones, creating a 'kill zone' along the front lines and striking deep into Russia, including near Moscow.
- Ukrainian drone attacks force Russia to divert resources to homeland defense, expanding the battlespace and raising costs without battlefield gains.
- Putin's initial war aims—subjugating Ukraine, weakening NATO, and restoring Russian dominance—are increasingly unattainable, as NATO has expanded and strengthened.
- Xi Jinping is observing the Ukraine war for lessons on Taiwan, with China's military untested and Ukraine demonstrating the difficulty of rapid political collapse.
- The U.S. can reinforce Xi's caution by bolstering NATO and support for Ukraine, showing coordinated responses to aggression.
- Trump's diplomatic opportunity lies in recognizing Russia's vulnerability, not assuming Ukrainian weakness, to broker a settlement acceptable to Ukraine and Washington.