Despite military successes, Kyiv faces economic devastation, citizens ‘removed’ by Russia and the risk of dwindling support
There is near euphoria, currently, among supporters of Ukraine at the continued military reverses it is inflicting on Russian forces. But the truth is that Ukraine has a long way to go before it can achieve any kind of acceptable outcome from this war – and the going will get harder the closer it seems to come to victory.
It’s not just the large areas of territory under Russian control, where Ukraine still has to fight to relieve the suffering of its citizens under a savage military occupation. It’s also the political and economic aspects of the war, which have been so often overlooked in the day-to-day tactical detail of Russia’s often self-inflicted military disasters.
Keir Giles works with the Russia and Eurasia programme of Chatham House. He is the author of Moscow Rules: What Drives Russia to Confront the West
