BREAKTHROUGH? There are conflicting accounts about what’s happening in the southern Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, where reports indicate that large numbers of fresh, battle-ready troops are attempting to break through Russian defenses.

“Ukraine has launched the main thrust of its counteroffensive, throwing in thousands of troops held in reserve, many of them Western-trained and equipped,” the New York Times said in a breathless report yesterday, quoting two unnamed Pentagon officials. “This is the big test,” said one senior official.”