Kyiv’s allies are largely withholding judgment over the Ukrainian offensive into Russian territory amid uncertainty over the ultimate goal of an operation that’s sought to redraw the map of the Kremlin’s 2½-year war.
Several NATO allies have backed Ukraine’s decision to send troops into the western Kursk region — the first occupation of Russian soil since World War II — and called the operation a legitimate form of self-defense against Moscow’s war of aggression.
But some have voiced misgivings publicly and privately, citing the risk that the escalation in fighting could divert badly needed troops from a fragile front line and potentially sow division among Kyiv’s backers, according to Western officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.