Leaders | Getting the job done

Vladimir Putin’s war is failing. The West should help it fail faster

Ukraine’s friends should reinforce its success by sending more and better weapons

Sep 15th 2022

One of the many excuses Vladimir Putin has given for invading the country next door is that Ukraine and Russia are “one nation”, which should be united under his benign rule. “Do you still think that?” asked Ukraine’s president, as his troops swept thousands of Russian invaders from Kharkiv province this week. Volodymyr Zelensky’s triumphant sarcasm was justified. The Kharkiv counter-offensive, which began on September 5th, marks the most dramatic Russian reversal since Mr Putin abandoned his effort to seize Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, at the end of March.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Getting the job done”