Next year could be the turning point in the Ukraine conflict

Editorial: The West is right to give Zelensky a blank cheque to defend his land, because the cost of a new Russian domination of Eastern Europe would inevitably be far greater

Putin’s departure – no matter what form it takes – should mean a swift conclusion to the war (Sputnik)

The casualties may be relatively light, but the misery inflicted by Russia’s latest rocket strikes on Ukraine is extensive. Around half of the country’s electricity supply has been knocked out, and Kharkiv, the second city, has no power supply at all.

It is a targeted, strategic action aimed at taking out power stations, hydroelectric plants and substations all destroyed. For obvious reasons, only the nuclear installations appear to have been spared (though they are always susceptible to a rogue Russian unit lobbing a shell at a reactor).

This new wave of attacks follows precisely the pattern set in recent months. As winter sets in, Russia’s troops – indifferent fighters in this unpopular war – are dug in for defence, their trenches a throwback to the attrition and discomforts of the Western front in the First World War.