Ukraine won the short war. Mobile and resourceful, its troops inflicted terrible losses and confounded Russian plans to take Kyiv. Now comes the long war. It will drain weapons, lives and money until one side loses the will to fight on. So far, this is a war that Russia is winning. Our cover this week lays out how Ukraine and its backers can reverse the setback. A long war suits Russia. Both sides are using huge amounts of ammunition, but Russia has vastly more. The Russian economy is much larger than Ukraine’s and in far better shape. In pursuit of victory, Mr Putin is willing to commit war crimes and impose grievous suffering on his own people. However, the long war does not have to be fought on Mr Putin’s terms. The Russian advance is slow and costly. With NATO-calibre weapons, fresh tactics and enough financial aid, Ukraine has every chance of forcing Russia’s armies to cede territory, as it did in the case of Snake Island this week. Even though the struggle will be hard, Ukraine can demonstrate the futility of Vladimir Putin’s campaign and emerge as a democratic, Westward-looking state. To do so it needs enduring support and that, alas, is still in doubt. |