After Bakhmut: Draining Battle Leaves Ukraine Battered, Russia Rising | Opinion

There is nothing patriotic about an American flying a Ukrainian flag. Nor is there anything treasonous about an American questioning unlimited support for a foreign nation in a foreign war. To recognize that Ukraine will not defeat Russia without much greater American intervention is not pro-Russian, it is pro-reality. Between 2014 and 2022 there was a violent, separatist insurrection in eastern Ukraine. To prevent Russian intervention, the government in Kiev constructed a line of strongly fortified towns and supply routes along its eastern border. Bakhmut was an important transportation hub in that network. Five months ago, when we wrote that…