This is the best summary I could come up with:
The West had rallied to President Zelenskyy's call for military support to enable a spring offensive, and there was an air of optimism that Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine was to be defeated.
However, a year on, the much-anticipated Ukrainian spring offensive failed to deliver any significant changes to the frontline, and 2024 started with Russia on the front foot in the Donbas.
Despite robust Western political rhetoric in support of Ukraine, actions speak louder than words, and Putin will feel emboldened by the West's hesitancy over the level of commitment to combating Russian aggression.
However, the West eventually agreed to send modern tanks and then long-range missiles - such as Storm Shadow - despite a growing tirade of threats from Putin.
This is not just about Western military personnel - such a move would also enable the West to deploy modern weapons that cannot be gifted to Ukraine for security reasons.
President Putin would recognise the significance of such a move and would increase his threatening rhetoric, but he knows that it is Russia that is responsible for the war and for invading a vulnerable neighbour.
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