How Delays in Western Aid Gave Russia the Initiative: From the Ukrainian Counteroffensive to Kharkiv
May 22, 2024 - ISW Press![](https://understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/styles/thumb-wide/public/ISW%20Logo%20Special%20Reports%20_16.jpg?itok=LJAQPodL)
Ukraine and the West have defeated a months-long Russian effort to persuade the West to abandon Ukraine and set conditions to collapse Ukrainian defenses. Russian forces have conducted offensive operations since Fall 2023 that aimed to convince the West to abandon its commitment to Ukraine, and prolonged US debates about security assistance likely convinced the Kremlin that its efforts had partially succeeded. The effects of continued delays in US and Western security assistance set conditions for Russian forces to make more significant gains on the battlefield than they had previously been able to make, and the Russian military command likely concluded that Russian forces would be able to collapse the Ukrainian frontline at some point in the near to medium term.