The war seems to be taking a paradoxical turn: Ukraine’s military position may be improving on the front, just as its strategic situation could become more precarious far from the front lines.

The decision not to invite observers from the OSCE puts the U.S. alongside Russia and Belarus, while the Justice Department prepares to deploy its own poll monitors.

Russia continues its slow advance in Donbas, but both armies are increasingly engaged in a race to adapt, regenerate and exhaust each other's strategic resources.