Trending Now
We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for Eurasia Group and its affiliates, including GZERO Media, to clarify the types of data we collect, how we collect it, how we use data and with whom we share data. By using our website you consent to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your personal data to the United States from your country of residence, and our use of cookies described in our Cookie Policy.
Fresh off their conquest of the town of Avdiivka in Eastern Ukraine, Russian forces are continuing to make advances against Kyiv’s increasingly taxed troops.
Since the end of February, Russian troops have reportedly pushed an additional two miles beyond Avdiivka. That may not sound like much, but as Al Jazeera gamely pointed out, two miles in a week is a proper hare’s pace for a Russian military that spent four months (and as many as 16,000 casualties) just to advance 5 miles to Avdiivka itself.
The fresh push suggests Vladimir Putin is seizing the moment strategically and politically. With US aid to Kyiv deadlocked in Congress, Ukraine is struggling to find fresh recruits and apportion dwindling munitions. Meanwhile, with his “election” approaching in two weeks, Putin will happily peacock a few extra bits of Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine.
All of which throws the spotlight back on the US. Without further aid, Kyiv’s military position is expected to deteriorate rapidly in the coming months. In that event, the prospect of some kind of partition of Ukraine – a top risk flagged by our friends at Eurasia Group this year – would start to look inevitable.