Ukraine is increasingly alone

Western fatigue is growing over the war in Ukraine [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Welcome to Balance of Power, bringing you the latest in global politics. If you haven’t yet, sign up [here](. These days, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy can barely disguise his frustration. The weather is turning, the political mood is souring and the [grinding counter-offensive may stall]( in spite of Ukraine’s insistence it will fight through the winter. The Israel-Hamas conflict has diverted the world’s attention, and with the hard-right Republicans in charge of the House of Representatives, Ukraine can no longer assume the American military aid it relies on will keep coming, even with President Joe Biden’s assurances to the contrary. He’s got a reelection to fight, and supporting Ukraine is not the top concern for US voters. In an interview with TIME magazine, Zelenskiy acknowledged: “Of course we lose out from the events in the Middle East.” Meanwhile, in one of his nightly addresses he complained how “the modern world quickly gets accustomed to success.” A year ago, Ukraine’s spirited counterattack had won praise. Criticism of its current efforts as underwhelming clearly sting. The US war machine is starting to be spread thin on two fronts. Ukraine is falling behind on artillery shells, the Europeans are unlikely to be able to step up while Russia is [reportedly getting ammunition supplies]( from North Korea. In public, leaders will keep saying how they stand by Ukraine, but the pledges are starting to ring hollow. A pair of notorious Russian pranksters tricked Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni into a phone call where [she said Western allies are tired]( of the conflict. “I see that there is a lot of fatigue, I have to say the truth, from all the sides,” she said in an audio recording from mid-September that was released online. “We’re nearing the moment in which everybody understands that we need a way out.” That’s a cruel truth for Zelenskiy to face but that is now out in the open.— [Flavia Krause-Jackson]( Meloni and Zelenskiy at the Chigi Palace in Rome on May 13. Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg Global Must Reads Biden urged Israel and Hamas to “pause” fighting in order to allow time to free hostages held in the Gaza Strip, while stopping short of supporting a full ceasefire. Progressive groups, as well as Muslim and Arab Americans, have [criticized the US president over his support for Israel’s campaign]( against Hamas that has resulted in thousands of civilian deaths in the Palestinian territory. Evacuees pass through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt yesterday. Photographer: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images President Emmanuel Macron plans to strengthen France’s arsenal of strategic tools [to protect vulnerable firms]( against foreign buyers with deep pockets, particularly from the US and China. The finance ministry said the government will lower the threshold for triggering a review and extend the number of protected areas to include critical raw materials, as well as French units of foreign companies. The US and China are set to hold rare nuclear arms control talks next week amid growing concerns over [Beijing’s accelerated push to build up]( its arsenal of atomic weapons, a US administration official says. The discussions will take place ahead of Biden’s planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco in less than two weeks. The rhetoric coming out of Washington and Beijing contains a lot of “either you’re with us or against us” kind of talk, but not everyone is picking sides. A [deep dive into trade and investment data]( highlights five nations straddling the new geopolitical fault lines: Vietnam, Poland, Mexico, Morocco and Indonesia. Europe’s worst construction crisis in decades has families seeing their dream of building their own home collapse. [Residential building has tumbled as costs soar](, while sluggish bureaucracies and increasingly stringent energy-efficiency regulations add to the headwinds. With housing already tight, the situation threatens to weigh on economic growth and further stoke political tensions. Latin America’s leftist leaders are reevaluating their relations with Israel over its offensive in the Gaza Strip, [highlighting the diplomatic risks]( posed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bid to eradicate Hamas. Fellow New York Republicans failed yesterday to expel Representative George Santos, who has been [indicted on fraud charges](, from the US House. Ugandan activists demonstrating against a $4 billion oil pipeline have been [threatened and detained]( as President Yoweri Museveni’s administration scrutinizes non-governmental organizations, Human Rights Watch said. Washington Dispatch Vice President Kamala Harris will take part today in the AI Security Summit convened by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The event, held at the World War II code-breaking center Bletchley Park, presents opportunities and challenges for the Biden administration and Harris regarding both the new technology and the not-so-distant political future. Biden this week signed an executive order on artificial intelligence that sets standards for security and privacy protections and requires developers to safety-test new models. Advocacy groups and even technology industry executives have been pressing the US government for guidelines on AI, but legislation has yet to emerge from Congress. Biden’s order, however, gave the vice president a plan to present at the UK gathering. Harris yesterday delivered a speech in London laying out the burgeoning risks posed by the technology, and called for international cooperation. The AI event gives also Harris [another chance for distinction]( on the world stage as she and the president prepare for what promises to be a long and rancorous election season. One thing to watch today: Biden will meet separately at the White House with the presidents of Chile and the Dominican Republic. [Sign up for the Washington Edition newsletter]( for more from the US capital and watch Balance of Power at 5pm ET weekdays on Bloomberg Television. Chart of the Day Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced a larger-than-expected economic stimulus package that aims to boost growth and help households hit by inflation. The package is [his latest attempt to appease voters]( who are critical of his handling of inflation — the fastest in decades. And Finally As China prepared to cremate former Premier Li Keqiang today, its leaders struggled to convince everyone in his hometown to accept their version that he died of a heart attack. Many mourners in the eastern Anhui province this week [doubted the official line]( about the death of the former No. 2 official who found himself sidelined by Xi before exiting the Politburo Standing Committee — China’s most powerful body — a year ago despite being young enough to stay on. Mourners at Li’s childhood home on Tuesday. 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