Europe | Survival mode

Ukraine is now struggling to cling on, not to win

Russia is slicing through Ukrainian defences in parts of the battlefield

View by drone of the bombed-out town of Vuhledar,
Photograph: Getty Images

“AFTER 970 days of war,” said Lloyd Austin, America’s defence secretary, visiting Kyiv on October 21st, “Putin has not achieved one single strategic objective.” And Mr Austin offered confidence: “Moscow will never prevail in Ukraine.” In private, however, his colleagues in the Pentagon, Western officials and many Ukrainian commanders are increasingly worried about the direction of the war and Ukraine’s ability to hold back Russian advances over the next six months.

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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Survival mode”

From the November 2nd 2024 edition

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