Ukraine Recap: the origins of Putin's war – and why it's not gone to plan

By Jonathan Este, Associate Editor, International Affairs Editor

It’s just over a week since the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, sent his war machine into Ukraine with the aim of toppling the government of Volodymyr Zelensky, “denazifying and demilitarising” the country and sending the bloodiest of messages to Nato about its expansion into eastern Europe. Things have since moved with dizzying speed.

Truth is said to be the first casualty of war, but there’s no reason for the demise of knowledge and expertise. In an assessment of Ukraine’s defensive capabilities, Frank Ledwidge, an expert on military strategy at the University of Portsmouth,

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