“As Ukraine’s European backers deal with myriad challenges at home — violent student protests in France, political upheaval in Germany and a mounting fuel crisis across the continent — Russian President Vladimir Putin is counting on a collapse of European support for Kyiv in the coming months,” the Washington Post reports.
“The Russian economy is struggling under the weight of international sanctions, and the Kremlin is laboring to cover a yawning budget deficit. But after Putin’s party secured a scripted win in parliamentary elections last month and Russian forces pounded Ukrainian schools, power plants and bridges with ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones, he has expressed no interest in dropping his maximalist demands in exchange for peace.”
