Alyona Getmanchuk, Director of the New Europe Center, explores a growing contradiction between Western rhetoric and actual policy: while Ukraine’s allies, particularly the United States, have long insisted they are helping Kyiv negotiate “from a position of strength,” recent delays and restrictions—especially on long-range strikes inside Russia—suggest some may prefer Ukraine to enter talks from a weaker stance. The author argues that Ukraine must build its own leverage for future negotiations, including through drone strikes and tactical incursions, and calls on Western leaders to reinforce these efforts rather than undermine them with vague peace formulas that risk legitimizing Russian aggression.

Reflections published in the Blogs section of Ukrainska Pravda.