Despite more than two years of war – and hundreds of thousands of casualties – Western leaders remain divided on what they want Kyiv to achieve.
Many seek Ukraine’s survival in some form as a sovereign nation; others argue anything less than Russia’s defeat, evicted from Ukraine entirely would be appeasement, and far more dangerous.
This absence of a clear objective has led to a muddled policy of arming Ukraine with enough to survive, but not enough to win. As things stand, therefore, a prolonged bloody stalemate – or the slow, attritional defeat of Ukraine – seems the conflict’s most likely outcome.
But let’s imagine we did want Ukraine to win, and win decisively. What would it need?
In this episode of Defence in Depth, Francis Dearnley, The Telegraph’s assistant comment editor and co-presenter of Ukraine: The Latest, examines five factors – the five “Ms” of Manpower, Munitions, Morale, Money and Mandate – that could transform Kyiv’s fortunes.
Watch Francis’ video analysis above. Find more episodes of Defence in Depth on The Telegraph’s YouTube channel.