Latest war between Russia and Ukraine: Zelensky reacts to Trump's “peace plan” | World News

Last week we asked our military analysts and international correspondents for their questions about the war.

Each week we choose one or two to answer – starting with this…

Given the (lack of) speed in implementing Western policies and the increasing speed of Russian military production, is it not already too late to save Ukraine, even if European countries agreed on a huge increase in military spending?

Andy

Military analyst Sean Bell answers this question…

Thank you, Andy, for this very timely question.

Large-scale wars require the consumption of vast quantities of weapons, ammunition, and military equipment—far beyond what can be maintained in stockpiles in peacetime and also beyond the peacetime capacity of a defense industrial base. To meet the demands of a modern battlefield, policymakers must make quick decisions about where to invest and what existing production capacity can be paused to create capacity to increase military production.

Russia recognized early on that it would be involved in a long-term military operation and has increased its defense industrial base by at least three times its prewar size. In addition, Russian oil revenues finance extensive imports of ammunition and missiles from North Korea and Iran.

In contrast, Ukraine's defense industry remains vulnerable to Russian attacks and its survival remains increasingly reliant on Western military support.

Although Western industrial capacity is an order of magnitude larger than Russia's, Russia is increasing production where the West has been slow to respond.

Western nations are now recognizing the broader threat Russia poses to European security, and defense budgets are rising accordingly. However, this is a long-term investment in internal security and not a short-term supply of weapons to Ukraine.

The only credible solution in the short term – next year – is for the US to approve the $60 billion military aid package that would enable the rapid deployment of commercially available weapons and ammunition. If this does not succeed, the coming summer could be very difficult for Ukraine.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron continues to argue that the West should not rule out deploying “ground troops” – a view supported by former British defense secretary Ben Wallace. Although this would be a significant escalation, it would allow the West to use modern weapons from its stockpile that have not previously been sent to Ukraine for fear that they could end up on the black market.

The West could also impose a no-fly zone over all or part of Ukraine. Given the poor performance of the Russian Air Force, this would almost certainly turn the war in Ukraine's favor.

But is there the political will to take such a step – even if it would almost certainly stop Vladimir Putin's brutal war in Ukraine?