Russian advances have made it “very, very difficult” for Ukraine to win its war with Moscow, according to one of Kyiv’s top security officials who said the country was prepared for prolonged resistance.
Oleksiy Danilov, chief of the national security council, told the Financial Times that Ukraine could win “because we are fighting for our freedom”. But he said a drawn-out war to drive out Russia’s invading army could only succeed if western countries accelerated supplies of advanced weapons.
Confidence that Ukraine could inflict further defeats on Russia after President Vladimir Putin’s forces retreated from most of the north and east of the country has given way to a dour mood in Kyiv as momentum has slowly swung back Russia’s way.