Because it is politically impossible. Any retreat is seen as treason, and moreover they fear that any visible setback will jeopardize the continued financial and material support by the West.
Militarily it makes absolutely no sense to remain in such a disadvantageous position, it hasn’t for weeks if not several months. But this conflict is peculiar in that one side is extremely obsessed with and dependent on symbolic acts.
They claim that they stay there to delay Russia’s advance until Ukraine’s long awaited counter-offensive comes that will magically turn the tide, but meanwhile the resources that were supposed to go into that offensive are instead being used up faster than they can accumulate them just to keep feeding into this shrinking salient.
Because it is politically impossible. Any retreat is seen as treason, and moreover they fear that any visible setback will jeopardize the continued financial and material support by the West.
Militarily it makes absolutely no sense to remain in such a disadvantageous position, it hasn’t for weeks if not several months. But this conflict is peculiar in that one side is extremely obsessed with and dependent on symbolic acts.
They claim that they stay there to delay Russia’s advance until Ukraine’s long awaited counter-offensive comes that will magically turn the tide, but meanwhile the resources that were supposed to go into that offensive are instead being used up faster than they can accumulate them just to keep feeding into this shrinking salient.