Two exhausted armies are battling for eastern Ukraine. Can either of them strike a decisive blow?
CNN
When Vladimir Putin refocused his war in Ukraine on the country's east three months ago, he did so bruised by the failures of his initial lunge towards Kyiv and desperate for a face-saving success.
After a slow and bloody march through Luhansk was finalized with the capture of the city of Lysychansk, the Russian President might consider himself halfway there.
But the war has arrived at another crossroads and fighters on both sides are steeling themselves for a third act of fighting that could tip the balance of the conflict.
A CIA assessment circulated among US officials this week concluded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu likely judges he can get away without defining a post-war plan — even as the Biden administration has launched a full-court press to pressure him to bring an end to the conflict in Gaza.