Why Russia-Ukraine war is not at a stalemate

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the U.S. has agreed to jointly produce weapons with Ukraine. There are also reports that the U.S. will also send long-range missiles to the country. Yahoo Finance Senior Columnist Rick Newman insists that “this war is not at a stalemate,” referencing “developments” in Ukraine’s efforts. Newman believes that these developments suggest Ukraine is figuring out how to get through Russia's air defense system — "one of the best in the world.”

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Video Transcript

BRAD SMITH: The US has agreed to jointly produce weapons with Ukraine, a partnership President Zelenskyy called historic in a video address. Both weapons and air defense systems will be a particular focus for the nation as the conflict with Russia drags on.

In a crucial development, the US has also promised to send long-range missiles to the nation, according to reports. The news could be a major breakthrough for officials in Kyiv, who long sought weapons to advance their efforts against Russia. Yahoo Finance's own Rick Newman joins us now with a look at what's worth keeping on your radar. Hey, Rick.

RICK NEWMAN: Hey, guys. I know a lot of people sort of have Ukraine war fatigue. This has been going on for more than a year and a half. And people may think this is at a stalemate. I think it's important to point out this war is not at a stalemate. We are seeing some continuing developments that are helpful for Ukraine. I'll just tick through a couple of them.

They've been gaining territory on the ground in Ukraine. I think what's perhaps more interesting is they have been mounting these assaults on Crimea, including an attack recently on what looks like the Black Sea fleet headquarters in Crimea, which they seem to have destroyed, including perhaps killing a top admiral, the commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

And what this tells us is that Ukraine is figuring a way to get through Russia's air defense system, which is considered one of the best in the world. So this is quite interesting. And the head of Ukrainian intelligence in an interview last week even said that part of what Ukraine is trying to do by penetrating and defeating Russia's air defense system is demonstrate to all the countries that purchase these systems from Russia that maybe it's not so great and to put a dent in Russia's sale of weapons to other countries, including air defenses.

So there's a lot going on here. And I think what you mentioned at the top there, this agreement between the United States and Ukraine to jointly produce weapons, this is a long term plan. This is a way of saying that the United States and the West are trying to fortify Ukraine not just in this war but for the long term, for years, and even for decades. And there are gonna be major changes in geopolitics that come out of this war. There already have been some that are gonna be more. And I just want everybody to keep paying attention to this

SEANA SMITH: Rick, I know you're more focused on some of the longer-term implications of this. But I got to bring up since we do have this looming threat of a government shutdown, how is that or would that at all affect some of these support efforts that the US currently has going right now for Ukraine?

RICK NEWMAN: Well, I mean, most analysis of the shutdown is that it will be a short one if it happens, which means it should not affect funding for Ukraine. There's already a lot of weapons on the way and a lot of funding in the bank, if you will.

The thing to watch for is the level of support for ongoing funding for Ukraine. It's gonna need more. And we have seen some Republicans recently, you know, they use this phrase, there's no blank check. Some Republicans have come out against any further funding for Ukraine. This is probably gonna be an issue in the 2024 election.

But then we see pushback from other Republicans, particularly in the Senate, saying, we are gonna support Ukraine. We're gonna keep it going. So I think it's really important to keep an eye on levels of public support for Ukraine. We're gonna have some disagreements politically. But for now, I think support remains pretty solid.