Retired U.S. Army Gen. Wesley Clark says Ukraine War an Endurance Contest

Retired U.S. Army Gen. Wesley Clark on Wednesday suggested Ukraine’s war with Russia is a test of endurance as both countries appear to be against compromise in the more-than-two-year conflict.

“I don’t think Ukraine is willing to compromise and give up its territory. I don’t think the Ukrainian military is going to collapse even though things are pretty tough right now until that American assistance gets there,” Clark said on NewsNation’s “The Hill.”

“And I don’t think Russia is willing to give up, so it’s an endurance contest, and it’s also a contest of national will and whether the United States and NATO will stand firm to support a beleaguered democracy,” Clark added.

He previously served as NATO’s supreme allied commander. 

Clark suggested the Ukraine-Russia war cannot be looked at in terms of time.

“Because what you got here is a critical situation that affects global security,” he said. “For Ukraine to collapse, we’d be faced with a huge national security crisis in Europe, and it would empower the Chinese to go after Taiwan. So we can’t measure it on the clock.”

Clark predicted Russia will attempt a “big play” at taking over more land in Ukraine this summer as U.S. aid trickles into the war-torn nation.

“It’s going to be a hair-raising time in Ukraine and for the West and then … summer will probably end with a Ukrainian counteroffensive that regains much of the territory lost,” he said. “2025 may be decisive.”

- The Hill