After more than four years of war, Russia’s dominance in Ukraine shows signs of weakening and Vladimir Putin is now calling on allied countries for help.
While Russia has always lost soldiers at a faster rate than Ukraine, its seemingly endless stream of replacements seems to be running out. Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones are now striking Crimea, where rich Russians like to holiday, as well as the culturally and strategically significant cities Moscow and St Petersburg.
The Russian President invited Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for talks in Russia on Friday, in what analysts characterised as an unprecedented sign of nervousness from Putin, who would normally expect unwavering loyalty from such a state without the need for quid-pro-quo diplomacy.
Shorts
Putin suffered another blow on Sunday with the announcement that Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić would be stepping down.
