Russia has faced a dizzying series of setbacks in its war with Ukraine
over the last week:

- Sweden and Finland are being fast-tracked into NATO membership,
which means Russia will soon share an 810-mile border with NATO.
More from NYT
- Ukrainian troops pushed the Russians from the outskirts of Kharkiv,
Ukraine’s second largest city, and are now approaching the Russian
border. Latest from Reuters
- Russia suffered “catastrophic” losses during a failed river crossing
on May 11, according to The Institute for the Study of War, which
notes that “the military incompetence displayed in that crossing
have shaken the confidence” of influential Russian military
bloggers.
- The UK Ministry of Defense said that the Russian offensive in the
eastern Donbas region, the focus of Russian firepower since its
retreat from Kyiv, has “lost momentum and fallen significantly
behind schedule.” The Brits also claimed that Putin has lost
one-third of the troops he sent into Ukraine since the start of the
February invasion.

On Sunday, Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary general, summed up the
implications of these developments: “Ukraine can win this war.”

And that is exactly the problem according to a growing number of western
officials and analysts who fear the fallout from what French President
Emmanuel Macron called the “humiliation” of Russia.

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