24 territory as they can get, force Putin to the bargaining table, and then ultimately Ukraine would have to compromise somewhat on issues like Crimea and portions of the east and arrange for solid security guarantees going forward, Smith told Defense News in a phone interview. Even technologically advanced, wealthy states in the Middle East eventually reached a point where theyre lobbing missiles at civilian cities, openly using chemical weapons and fighting in waves just people rushing across the field getting shot at, Jensen said. And they said winning will depend on a Congress with the resolve to ensure continued support to Ukraine. But even then, the very concept of victory may be inaccurate, they warned.

• Most U.S. training takes place at U.S. military bases in Germany.
• Ukraine's defensive forces transform into an effective insurgency, well-motivated and supported by local populations.
• The UK's defence secretary has also warned that we need to be prepared for a war.
• "Both black boxes have been discovered a flight parameters recording device and a voice recorder," the agency was told.
• But there is no smooth drop-off most of them end relatively quickly.

But it may not be implausible if the people who have benefited from Mr Putin no longer believe he can defend their interests. Earlier this month, its civil defence minister told a defence conference "there could be a war in Sweden". Carl-Oskar Bohlin asked the public "have you considered whether you have time to join a voluntary defence organisation? If not - get moving!" https://www.openlearning.com/u/michaelsenbishop-s2dhzs/blog/WhatWarCouldMeanForLifeInModernBritain01 were backed up by the country's top military commander, who said Sweden should prepare itself mentally. After shifting its focus to Ukraines east, Russia has captured nearly all of the Luhansk province and is likely to continue its efforts until it takesthe rest of the Donetsk province together, these two areas make up the Donbas region.

Ukraine will press Russia around Crimea

"I believe that the war may stretch well into 2025 and the international support for both sides would prolong the war as neither Ukraine nor Russia can achieve major breakthroughs and declare victory," Gok told Newsweek. "It is theoretically possible that Russia could take advantage of a change in leadership to try to declare victory and just hold onto the land it grabbed since February of 2022," she said. "But even if Putin dies, I think there's only a miniscule chance that Russia would back off from the war, because it has already invested so much of its national image in winning." The plane was destroyed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the area of Liptsy, Kharkov [Kharkiv] Region, with an anti-aircraft missile system. The radar equipment of the Russian Aerospace Forces observed the launch of two Ukrainian missiles. On board the plane were six crew members, 65 Ukrainian military personnel for the exchange and three Russian military personnel accompanying them.

Earlier today, a Russian official said air defences had thwarted a drone attack on the Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery in the city of Yaroslavl. Hein Goemans So, well, thats interesting, particularly in the context of your earlier question. What are the reasons why Putin keeps fighting and why he can be hopeful and think that he might pull it off in the long run is because he thinks that the west will crumble. So the more people who say let go, we should negotiate now, the long-term is favourable to Russia, the more Putin can hope that the west will in the end fail to support Ukraine. And if that happens, then Ukraine will lose on the battlefield.

Kremlin says it'll agree to international investigation if Kyiv admits plane attack was a crime

"Even if the costs are high, not only for military support, also because of rising energy and food prices." The West must prepare to continue supporting Ukraine in a war lasting for years, Nato's chief has warned. I wrote about this recently, noting that we're seeing air battles daily, but pilots are rarely involved.

Still, "given the durability of the Ukrainian resistance and its long history of pushing Russia back, the U.S. and Western powers do not believe that this will be a short war," CBS News reports. "The U.K. foreign secretary estimated it would be a 10-year war. Lawmakers at the Capitol were told Monday it is likely to last 10, 15, or 20 years and that ultimately, Russia will lose." This is an example that you see occurring over and over again.

Long war

The plant, on the north-western outskirts of the town, dominates the main road into Avdiivka and, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) believes if Russian forces were to secure it, resupplying the town would "become increasingly difficult for Ukraine". However, the ISW says Russia has made confirmed advances near the town and notes that several Russian sources claim its forces are trying to push Ukrainian troops out of positions in the Avdiivka Coke Plant, which occupies a key tactical position. The Ukrainian General Staff says its forces have repelled Russian attacks near Avdiivka itself, as well as from settlements to the north west, south west, and directly west of the town. Ukraine has continued ground operations on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River with heavy battles reported to be ongoing in the area around the village of Krynky, about 30km (19 miles) from the city of Kherson. It is almost two years since Russia's invasion but the situation on the ground has changed little in recent months - despite Ukraine's counter-offensive, which began in June.

The problems could extend beyond Ukraine, he said, arguing that Europe could face another wave of immigrants from African and Middle Eastern countries previously reliant on grain exports from Ukraine if the war continued to disrupt maritime exports. The statements suggest the west believes Ukraine cannot achieve a rapid military breakthrough despite the anticipated arrival of fresh Nato-standard arms, while officials in the country have continued to call for rapid help. All of this, of course, assumes that Russias war doesnt escalate beyond Ukraine. One concern is it could yet extend to other post-Soviet countries such as Moldova and Georgia, both of which, like Ukraine, have Russian-backed breakaway regions within their respective territories. The other, perhaps greater, risk is that Russian aggression could spread even farther afield, to the Baltics, which would not only draw NATO into a potential conflict, but also fundamentally threaten the postCold War order.

• "For its part, Ukraine has fulfilled all agreements for the preparation of the exchange. The Russian captured servicemen were delivered in time to the designated exchange point, where they were kept safe," the Ukrainian intelligence department said in a statement.
• You cant kill just Ukrainians and no Russians and therefore swing the tide on the battlefield.
• Hein Goemans Well, Russias best hope is breaking up the western support for Ukraine, and that can happen in a variety of ways, right?
• That plane, he said, was followed by another Il-76 with more prisoners on board, Kartapolov said.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin's trip to the region of Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea sandwiched between two NATO countries, should not be interpreted as a "message" to NATO, the Kremlin said Thursday.