It’s been a tough week for Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy replaced the popular leader of his military, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, with the current army commander, General Oleksandr Syrskyi. He has watched the flailing in the US Congress over a new tranche of funding for Ukraine. And Donald Trump, leading in most US presidential polls, is on the campaign trail firing shots at both Ukraine and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Meanwhile, Russian leader Vladimir Putin seems to have a real bounce in his step with an upcoming “election” that he will win handily and a long, propaganda-filled interview with US talk-show host Tucker Carlson. Russian cruise missile and drone attacks hit Ukraine almost daily, and Russian ground operations around Avdiivka are grinding away with modest success in the wake of failed Ukrainian offensives in 2023.