The quick victory never came. But a functional economy, controlled media and slow battle gains give Putin control.

With the Russian military performing poorly, Ukraine is clarifying strategy and pushing back with modest success

A quick landgrab has distorted into a complex geopolitical conflict – and even Trump’s fulminations can’t seem to make Ukrainians give in, says Rajan Menon, a professor emeritus…

The quick victory never came. But a functional economy, controlled media and slow battle gains give Putin control.

What many in the West viewed as a strategic blunder is increasingly seen in Moscow as a costly but necessary gamble.