It’s time to be realistic about the war in Ukraine

Any resolution will proceed from facts on the ground as they are, not as we would wish they were, writes Mary Dejevsky

Western versions of the war need to stop sugar-coating the balance of advantage or playing down setbacks for Ukraine (Getty)

Have you noticed how we no longer wake up to news of the latest victories for heroic Ukrainians or the latest setbacks for savage Russians? How President Volodymyr Zelensky’s rallying calls – including his latest to the plutocrats in Davos – command a lot less of our airtime than they did?

Well, some of that change doubtless reflects the natural cycles of news. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine three months ago was so shocking, and the response of Zelensky and his fellow countrymen so courageous, that public interest was sky-high. Here was a war, a horrific, all-out war, in Europe, with a telegenic actor turned inspirational wartime leader, and brave Ukrainian Davids outwitting Russia’s clumsy Goliath.

Maybe, though, there is only so long that a mass audience can grapple with the unfamiliar names and places, many hours’ journey from our islands, once the first drama – and the immediate threat of a wider war – has worn off. It was probably inevitable that concerns closer to home would rise up the agenda, including, for the UK and all of Europe, the soaring cost of living (even if it was fuelled in part by the war).