Ukraine’s Assault Inside Russia Is Putin’s Worst Nightmare
The surprise incursion will undoubtedly provoke a response from Moscow, but Kyiv’s display of military competence validates the West’s continued support.
Resetting the battle.
Photographer: Roman Pilipey/AFP/Getty Images
It has been close to a century since the last invasion of Russia by another sovereign power. That was Hitler’s Germany in June 1941, and it did not turn out well for the Nazis. The military failure echoed Napoleon’s invasion in the early 19th century, which made it to Moscow but was forced to retreat with catastrophic losses.
Now, for the first time in the 21st century, an invading military power, Ukraine, is in possession of hundreds of square miles of Russian territory, capturing Russian military prisoners and forcing a state of emergency and evacuations in the Belgorod and Kursk regions.