Global Affairs

Putin, Peter the Great and prospects of a prolonged Ukraine war

Proposals to silence the guns in Ukraine run up against considerable obstacles.

The Bronze Horseman, an equestrian statue of Russia's first emperor Peter the Great, in St Petersburg. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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Almost four months have passed since Russia invaded Ukraine. If recent predictions from Ukraine's intelligence services are to be believed, the Russian military is under orders to maintain the offensive for another four months.

Not that this is not preventing some European leaders from trying to stop the fighting. French President Emmanuel Macron is embarking today on a fact-finding tour of Ukraine's immediate southern neighbours.

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