Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive has finally begun — but to what end?

Although its strategic objectives remain unclear, there are legitimate reasons behind the timing for this counteroffensive by Ukraine against Russia.

Sappers inspect a damaged Russian tank installed as a symbol of war in central Kyiv, Ukraine. Picture: Efrem Lukatsky/AP

A few days into the news that the Ukrainian/url] army has recaptured territories from the Russian occupying forces, Kyiv’s counteroffensive still has plenty to intrigue us. 

Announced in autumn 2022, this summer 2023 campaign has been a long time coming. So much so that it almost came to seem like Godot in Samuel Beckett’s play: its arrival seemed imminent, but never came. At the beginning of June 2023, it appears to have finally averted the “Godot curse”.