Ukrainian troops have shown resistance, bolstered by Moscow’s military struggles. Newsweek asked six experts if Kyiv could ultimately prevail.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that Ukraine can defeat Vladimir Putin ’s troops, but what is the likelihood of a victory by Kyiv’s forces over Russia and what form could it take? Johnson told the BBC on Friday that „there’s a sense in which Putin has already failed or lost,“ adding „I think Ukraine can certainly win.“ Russia continues to bombard cities such as Mariupol and Chernihiv but Putin appears to be scaling back his ambitions in Ukraine away from seizing Kyiv to fighting for control of the east. On Friday, Moscow said the „special military operation“ would now focus on the „main goal, liberation of Donbas,“ according to Reuters. Meanwhile in calling for negotiations with Moscow to end the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday his „heroic armed forces had dealt powerful blows to the enemy.“ Given Russia’s stalled invasion, losses of troops and equipment as well as Ukraine’s strong resistance, Newsweek asked six experts about whether they thought Kyiv could ultimately win. „If winning means Russia being forced back from Kyiv and Kharkiv, I think the chances are good. „If it means Ukraine holding the land bridge from Russia to Crimea, since this is Putin’s minimum objective and he will fight very hard to achieve it […] there the battle hangs in the balance.
