Ukraine recap: diplomatic manoeuvres intensify in advance of a possible spring offensive

• The rising mercury has fuelled speculation that Ukraine’s much discussed spring offensive is just around the corner, the only questions being when and where Ukraine’s military planners intend to make their big push.
• Some observers have noted that Ukraine has achieved a bridgehead on the eastern side of the Dnipro River, which could foreshadow a major push southwards towards Crimea.
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• Moscow’s political objectives, Harink warns, might be as much about involving the west in a lengthy and debilitating conflict.

The Russian front

• One of the centrepieces is the march of the Immortals Regiment in which thousands parade with pictures of loved ones who gave their lives in defence of the homeland.
• Dina Fainberg, an expert in modern history at City, University of London, tells the story of how Victory day become Russia’s biggest national celebration.
• Imagine if thousands of people turned up to march carrying pictures of loved ones killed in Putin’s “special military operation”.
• Read more:
  'Stalin-style' show trials and unexplained deaths of opposition figures show the depth of repression in Putin's Russia

Further afield (and on sea)