Ukraine war analysis: As victory for Vladimir Putin is looking increasingly less likely, what will be the Russian president’s next move?

Ukrainian servicemen fire a 2S5 Giatsint-S self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops outside the Donetsk region frontline town of Bakhmut, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine,. Photo: Anna Kudriavtseva/Reuters

Ishaan Tharoor© Washington Post

More than a year into the war he launched in Ukraine, Russian president Vladimir Putin is confronted with failure.