I don't listen to US critics, but the Ukraine has been pretty hedged in their statements. Whether they understood that they needed to get as many resources as possible was independent of whether as pessimistic as possible was the best strategy.

I don't really see why the West would be bothered by a long drawn out conflict. I think the other superpowers felt more relaxed when the US was properly tied up in Afghanistan, a defeat and withdrawal makes them much less predictable.