Western advisors have both underestimated the Ukrainians and overestimated the Russians since day one. First they thought the Russians would capture Kiev in a week, then thought there would be some negotiated settlement.
Plus most Western governments (other than Poland and UK) went "wobbly" as Margaret Thatcher was reported to have said. Biden's security advisors didn't want to have the conflict escalate, and much of the EU felt the same way. This led to hesitancy on providing anything that could be "offensive." Providing Stingers and Javelin were fine, but ATACMS, tanks, F-16? Nope.
Only once Ukraine demonstrated both a chance of surviving and even winning did this mindset begin to change. Every Ukrainian victory or Russian defeat encouraged the West to provide more equipment and munitions. But we're still providing too little.
Both Poland and the UK really deserve huge amounts of credit for their stalwart support of Ukraine (as well as the Baltic states). The US may be providing the most in terms of raw dollars, but without Poland and Ukraine pushing as hard as they have, Ukraine would be in a much tougher situation.
Plus most Western governments (other than Poland and UK) went "wobbly" as Margaret Thatcher was reported to have said. Biden's security advisors didn't want to have the conflict escalate, and much of the EU felt the same way. This led to hesitancy on providing anything that could be "offensive." Providing Stingers and Javelin were fine, but ATACMS, tanks, F-16? Nope.
Only once Ukraine demonstrated both a chance of surviving and even winning did this mindset begin to change. Every Ukrainian victory or Russian defeat encouraged the West to provide more equipment and munitions. But we're still providing too little.
Both Poland and the UK really deserve huge amounts of credit for their stalwart support of Ukraine (as well as the Baltic states). The US may be providing the most in terms of raw dollars, but without Poland and Ukraine pushing as hard as they have, Ukraine would be in a much tougher situation.