The snow is melting in eastern Ukraine, and for a brief moment in a year of full-scale war with Russia, things have felt oddly normal. Over the weekend, Ukrainians painted Easter eggs, baked sweet bread, and dressed up in traditional embroidered vyshyvanka shirts.
But in the West, the eerie calm across much of Ukraine’s frozen battlefield, apart from the meat grinder of Bakhmut, has brought a sense of unease. Many are wondering: What’s the holdup for an offensive? For weeks, top Ukrainian officials—from President Volodymyr Zelensky on down—have been telegraphing that they will not start another major military onslaught on Russian lines without more weapons from the United States and the West.
