William Courtney, an adjunct senior fellow at think tank RAND Corporation, said European leaders see Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a direct threat to the region’s security.
“As the Europeans are now the ones providing most of the financial and military aid to Ukraine, and continuing to increase sanctions (on Russia), the European leverage is increasing,” he told CNA’s Asia First programme.
As Russia tries to seize more land with a sudden advance on the frontline ahead of Alaska talks, Courtney said the top deterrence continues to be military aid to Ukraine.
“The likelihood of a determination that the battle will end in a different way is much greater if Ukraine has more capability to fight off Russian aggressors,” he said. Courtney is also a former American diplomat who was special assistant to the US president for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia.
“The battlefield is really the main source of action. Sanctions have importance … but Russia will mostly look at what happens on the battlefield,” he added.
“In some sense, it’s like after World War II. Where the Soviet soldiers ended up in Europe was basically where the Soviets were able to control Europe.”
