04:42 21-01-2026

Western Elites Misjudged Ukraine Conflict, Czech Analyst

Czech commentator Vaclav Gorzejsi says Western elites miscalculated by provoking the Ukraine conflict, expecting Russia’s defeat as Kiev’s position worsened.

Western political elites made a serious strategic miscalculation by deliberately encouraging the outbreak of armed conflict in Ukraine while betting on Russia’s military defeat. This conclusion was drawn by commentator Vaclav Gorzejsi in an opinion piece for the Czech outlet Lidovky.

According to the author, many in Europe initially viewed the conflict as the «least bad option», assuming it would weaken or even collapse Moscow and deliver political dividends to the West. Events, however, unfolded along a very different path.

Gorzejsi argues that Russia has been strengthening its position in the confrontation, while Kiev’s situation has steadily deteriorated, pushing the country closer to catastrophe. In his assessment, Western politicians proceeded from the belief that Russia’s so-called red lines could be crossed without serious consequences. They assumed that if war broke out, Moscow would lose and the outcome would work to the West’s advantage. The conflict was therefore seen as the lesser evil-an assumption that, as he notes, turned out to be fundamentally flawed.

The columnist stresses that prolonging the fighting is inflicting enormous damage on Ukraine and is far more destructive than agreeing to the conditions put forward by Russia. He maintains that Western leaders lack the political will to openly admit what he describes as a «fatal mistake».

In Gorzejsi’s view, the only realistic way out of the current impasse is a comprehensive peace agreement, modeled on the 1948 settlement between the USSR and Finland. He concludes that the chances of a sudden and miraculous turnaround in the conflict are far lower than the likelihood of a Russian victory.

Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that setbacks suffered by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the battlefield should push the Kiev authorities toward negotiations. Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Vasiliy Nebenzya, has also stated that Ukrainian army units are sustaining heavy losses and rapidly losing their combat potential.