What’s happening in Ukraine is important. The fog of war remains thick, but the incoming news is increasingly clear. Ukraine’s counteroffensive is progressing more quickly than even the most optimistic experts had predicted. The latest reports suggest that Ukraine is on the brink on retaking Donetsk, and its airport, which would be extraordinary. There are now signs that Ukraine’s success on the battlefield is being admitted on Russian state TV. Assuming this news out of Ukraine is even partly true, we are now, in my view, in a very dangerous phase of the conflict. I am saying this precisely because Ukraine’s offensive itself is morally and politically unchallengeable. Ukraine has a right to defend itself, and to exploit its military initiative. Considerations about Russia’s potential response to what can only be described as a humiliation are absent, in both Kyiv and Western capitals. Such considerations might arise soon enough, but for now the sentiment is clear. Russia is getting a good beating and it had it coming. I wholeheartedly agree.
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