Putin puts forth resolute indifference to the Kursk debacle

Both war leaders have taken a gamble with the Kursk battle: Zelenskyy by throwing his best brigades into a surprise offensive, and Putin by opting to absorb those attacks rather than countering them. Ukraine has succeeded in altering the narrative of Russia’s dominance, sending a shock wave through Russian society. Moscow expects that the capture of Pokrovsk will restore its position of power. Putin’s belief that time is on his side may be false, but Ukraine can only do so much alone to prove him wrong. The Western “as-long-as-it-takes” commitment to aiding Ukraine in this war must be reaffirmed again and again by deepening and widening its support of Ukrainian defiance.