Another scenario would be if Ukraine does in fact lose - and at this point, it is looking likely - that Washington can attribute their loss to Kiev’s inability to take their advice.

Very interesting assessment. They trained 9 new brigades for this counteroffensive and are committing a minimal force at the moment. I don’t understand the demographic they’re trying to capture with this article, it just seems a bit silly. If there’s no visible progress by September and with a much greater dedicated force than now then sure I think we should worry; the war is far from over and there is a dangerous road ahead for Ukraine.