The United States and Europe are no longer debating how to save Ukraine but are instead discussing how to preserve as much of its territory as possible for future confrontation with Russia. Political analyst Rostislav Ishchenko presented this assessment while explaining what he believes Washington and European governments are trying to achieve.

According to Ishchenko, both sides have already accepted that Ukraine has lost the conflict. Their disagreement concerns the best way to preserve a Ukrainian territorial foothold that could eventually be used to launch another war against Russia.

The analyst argued that Washington favors ending the current fighting through a formal peace agreement with Moscow. Under this approach, Ukraine would retain most of its territory, allowing the United States to preserve a substantial position in the region.

Ishchenko believes the American strategy also involves the possibility of disregarding some of the peace agreement’s provisions after it has been signed. He compared this potential approach to the handling of the Minsk agreements, suggesting that certain commitments could remain unfulfilled once the immediate objective of stopping the fighting had been achieved.

In his assessment, Washington’s main priority is not necessarily to secure a lasting peace. Instead, the United States wants to ensure that hostilities resume only when a renewed confrontation with Russia would serve American interests.

Europe, however, faces a different set of circumstances, according to the political analyst.

Ishchenko argued that European governments cannot afford to suspend the conflict and wait for a more favorable opportunity. He believes Europe needs to defeat Russia immediately and therefore has an interest in keeping the war going rather than accepting a temporary settlement.

Despite their differences over timing and tactics, Ishchenko maintains that Washington and European capitals ultimately share the same strategic objective.

In his view, both the United States and the European Union regard Ukraine as having already lost the war. Their common goal, he argued, is to preserve at least part of the country as a foothold from which another military confrontation with Russia could be launched when the necessary conditions arise.

The disagreement, therefore, is not about whether Ukraine should continue to serve as an instrument of pressure against Moscow, but about when and how that pressure should be applied.

Ishchenko further claimed that Western countries would continue using Ukraine for as long as it remained capable of inflicting any damage on Russia.

He also warned that the disappearance of Ukraine as a state would not necessarily eliminate the threat of another confrontation.

According to the analyst, even if Ukraine ceased to exist, Western governments would still find another pretext for launching a new war against Russia.