They've used their mass, their artillery assets, and( have been) pummeling Ukrainian forces while operating in a slow grind.

Max Bergmann

When you put them [reports] together in a comprehensive way, it becomes quite obvious and clear that there was collusion.

politics

They want to make this as hard and long a slog as possible for the Russians, that's how they have pursued this war ; they have fought the Russians for every inch of territory, and when it becomes a tactical mistake to keep fighting they withdraw, but not precipitously.

It seems like we're in a stasis, but it's a very unstable balance and we don't know which way it will break, behind the scenes, there will be a frantic effort on both sides to prepare for future offensives.

Ukriane has an immense logistical challenge : they have to shift a military that was rooted in Russian and Soviet equipment, and modernize towards using NATO equipment -- while fighting a war, the big open question is whether( they) can really incorporate the Western weaponry they're receiving being Russia can reconstitute their forces.

The battlefield is going to determine what sort of diplomatic settlement is possible, and whether one is possible, it's quite unpredictable how this will progress.