“We’ve recognized the need for a virtual capability to respond rapidly to an incident if an ally experiences a significant cyberattack and asks for support,” Ms. Neuberger said on Friday. Most of the debates about how much to turn up the heat on Mr. Putin, without provoking a major escalation in the war, takes place behind closed doors among his staff. But there is concern that rising gas prices and the cost of keeping Ukraine armed and fed will begin to wear down enthusiasm, especially if Mr. Putin makes good on recent threats to limit gas supplies to Europe in the fall. Mr. Fontaine noted: “All the leaders he’ll meet are in the same general dilemma, and elections loom in the United States and elsewhere. Western unity is high, support for Ukraine still very solid and the desire to resist Russia real.”But he also said that summit meetings “demonstrate how sustainable the various lines of effort will be as the war itself grinds away.”

Source: International New York Times June 25, 2022 20:07 UTC