The war in Ukraine could be at a tipping point

Last week the war in Ukraine was supposed to enter a new phase. At least that’s what the Ukrainian government, the Western secret services – and the leadership in Moscow believed. The major Russian offensive in the Donbass, in eastern Ukraine, was about to start.

“We can say that the Russian troops have started the battle for Donbass, for which they have been preparing for a long time,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said somewhat awkwardly in a televised address; as is often the case in a military green T-shirt in front of a flag of the Ukrainian armed forces. Zelenskyj announced a “hard fight” to the Russian troops.

But now it is clear that the war has by no means entered a new, much more urgent phase, but is largely continuing as before, even in eastern Ukraine. This is precisely why the decisive phase of the war could begin now, and the invasion could be at a tipping point.