Putin shows no desire to halt his war. Any new strategy for Kyiv must accept that fact

While Donald Trump and other Western leaders are taking their time to catch up with reality, it is obvious that Vladimir Putin has no apparent desire to halt the war in Ukraine.

- Dan Sabbagh

A realistic future military and diplomatic strategy for Kyiv has to accept that fact and formulate a new approach.

The past six months have been dominated by the erroneous assumption that it would be possible for Trump to negotiate a ceasefire, even an armistice. That would be followed by the arrival of an Anglo-French-led stabilisation force to secure the future of Ukraine. But Putin has shown no desire to stop attacking.

A fresh Russian ground offensive is emerging towards Velykyi Burluk, 50 miles east of Kharkiv, and for now is making some rare gains: three miles in 10 days. The cynical bombing of Ukraine's cities by missile and drone is intensifying, straining Kyiv's air defences and leading to more civilian casualties.

A record 728 Shahed drones and 13 missiles were launched on the night of 8 July, many at Lutsk in the west, though the bombardment of 597 drones and 26 missiles on Friday night and Saturday morning showed no slackening of violent intent. It will be soon possible for Russia to attack with 1,000 drones in a night, Ukraine believes.