‘We do not assess that the conflict is a stalemate’

Sullivan’s take comes at a good time for Kyiv. Ukrainian forces today said they took Robotyne, moving them closer to Melitopol, the city Kyiv’s troops need to capture to cut off Russia’s land bridge to Crimea. To get there, the Ukrainians need to trudge 14 miles south to Tokmak, which isn’t guaranteed as the Wall Street Journal notes “tank traps and other barriers … could make the next phase of the fighting even more difficult for Ukraine.”

FRANZ-STEFAN GADY, a military analyst who has advised U.S. and European forces, agrees with the Sullivan-expressed view. “Military campaigns go through different phases,” he told NatSec Daily. “Even if there are operational pauses, or either side isn’t making many territorial gains, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we are talking about a stalemate.”

Read the full story and more from POLITICO.