PUTIN IS WATCHING: Russian President Vladimir Putin knows his best chance of eking out an end state in Ukraine he could credibly spin as a victory is to hold on to most of the territory his forces now occupy and hope that the United States, Ukraine’s most important ally, goes wobbly. “He wants to wait us out. I think he wants to see what happens in ’24,” said Richard Haass, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Putin’s strategy is to keep replacing his horrific battlefield losses with fresh cannon fodder and hope that the anti-Ukraine aid faction in the House of Representatives can undercut President Joe Biden’s promise to support Kyiv “as long as it takes” and then hope that Biden is replaced by Donald Trump, who has pledged to end the war in 24 hours on Putin’s terms.