Not too early to think ‘what next?’ if Ukraine offensive fails

Last fall, it took four weeks for Ukraine to liberate more than 4,500 square miles of territory outside the eastern city of Kharkiv.

Farther south, a simultaneous campaign took two and a half months to free the regional capital of Kherson, the only such city Russia had captured in the war. 

Since June, Ukraine has been fighting its latest, largest counteroffensive. With both sides suffering heavy casualties, it’s only retaken about 100 square miles so far. The attritional warfare is challenging Ukraine’s armed forces and its allies, as well. If the effort