To contend with Russia the West needs a deeper understanding of its military past, and world view.

“As the US and its allies ramp up support for Israel, Kiev’s situation looks even bleaker, and we are beginning to read more about the claims of the vultures circling overhead who are looking to grab a piece of what is left of the country following the cessation of hostilities. They believe they have some right. We can look at this in more detail a little later. If we are to look at the situation realistically, what needs to happen is provide a solution that ticks all of the boxes, but the overriding factors being the security of Russian borders alongside guaranteeing the hard fought for objectives of the SMO being not just a short-term fix, but permanently enforced.

Ukrainians should be told that there is a shortage of soldiers and that mass conscription is urgently needed

As a brokered peace looks more inevitable, the question is why it took so long.

At the height of the 2014 coup in Ukraine, Washington’s ‘Maidan midwife’ uttered a phrase that has held true ever since

The divisions that gave rise to the political crisis still largely remain today

About 45% of Ukrainians support the demonstrations in favor of Ukraine’s closer relations with Europe, known as Euromaidan, while 48% do not support them and 7% are undecided, a poll of 2,600 responde

Rumours of tensions at the top, exhaustion after two years of fighting and frustration with allies dampen the mood in Kyiv

What shellshocked NATO urgently needs is to restore confidence in its deterrent capability

As Ukraine’s counteroffensive begins to unravel, it is not clear that the hundreds of thousands of deaths already suffered have purchased any of its goals.