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In Ukraine conflict, the fog of war on the battlefield, but not so what we know to have been true these last months,

which is the Biden administration is reluctant to do X because Putin is threatening Y.

John, I'm very good at eating too. The arms have gone in a formula of we can't do this, but we can do that.

And then the next time around, well, it turns out we can do this, but we can't do that.

Has that in any fashion inhibited Ukraine's ability to defend itself? Good evening to you.

Good evening, John. Yes, it has. And that pattern, I think the Russians have watched very closely.

They have seen the indecision in Washington. They attribute it largely.

And I think, unfortunately, correctly, to the threats that Moscow has made to escalate the war

if NATO allies provide the high mars or attackums or you name the weapon that was discussed.

So as a result, although weapons may ultimately have gotten to Ukraine, they've gotten there in a piecemeal fashion.

And what that means is from a military point of view, they're not being applied strategically.

They're being applied as they can be used. And the result is it took a lot of time to get to the point where the so-called spring offensive now underway could be launched.

And the Russians took full advantage of that time to fortify and trench themselves in the eastern and southern part of Ukraine that they hold.

And that's why this spring offensive is installed at the moment.

We can hope for more progress. Some may come, but what I really fear is Putin taking advantage of the ongoing gridlock to seize the diplomatic initiative in the fall.

And say, let's have a ceasefire. Let's have negotiations. And if the French and the Germans eager to turn the page, agree to that.

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