The Bottom Line

Is it time for the West to double down on the Ukraine war?

A former US defence secretary says that it’s time to support Ukraine more strongly and get out of ‘never-never land’.

Russia will be able to “turn the world upside down” if the West slows down its support for Ukraine now, says Chuck Hagel, a former United States secretary of defence.

To maintain the Western order, the Biden administration has no choice but to escalate the war, Hagel argues, even though domestic support for the Ukraine war will likely fall during the upcoming United States election season.

The Bottom Line host Steve Clemons discusses possible scenarios for the future of the war in Ukraine with Hagel and Ed Luce, the US editor of the Financial Times.