Editor’s note: This article was originally published on 15 September and has been updated in light of recent events. On 9 November Russia ordered its military to pull out of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, the only regional capital it has captured since invading the country in February. Joe Biden, the US president, told reporters that the decision to withdraw from Kherson showed Vladimir Putin’s forces were facing “some real problems”, prompting speculation that peace talks could be on the horizon. Yet while the recapture of Kherson is a significant symbolic victory for Kyiv the Ukrainian government remains cautious. Russian forces have been moved across to the eastern side of the Dnieper river, which will be easier to defend.
Russia’s recent military setbacks have led to hopes that the war might be over sooner rather than later, bringing an end to both the continuing death and destruction and the global economic disruption it has caused. What had appeared to be a rather slow-moving confrontation is now more dynamic. In one key respect Ukraine’s successful offensive, in which Kyiv has recaptured thousands of square kilometres of eastern territory in a matter of days, has brought peace a little closer. The only conditions for a stable peace involve Russia withdrawing its forces from Ukraine. The prospect of further battlefield humiliations should encourage the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to seek a dignified exit.
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