A Ukrainian counter-offensive in Kherson faces steep odds
Ukraine wants to show progress on the battlefield. But its army may not be ready
The great wars of the 20th century pivoted on counter-offensives: the Allied landings at Normandy; Douglas MacArthur’s surprise attack on Inchon in the Korean war; Norman Schwarzkopf’s “left hook” to cut off Iraqi forces in Kuwait. Now Ukraine, with a fifth of its territory in Russian hands, hopes to join that list. But a much-vaunted operation in southern Kherson province seems to have been overhyped. That may be intentional.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Stick or twist?”
Europe August 20th 2022
From the August 20th 2022 edition
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