Ukrainian military thinks this is the right time to make a sharp strike, rather than chipping away that's been going on. Russian units at the moment appear to be severely under strength in this area. The country's third army corps has been raising new volunteer battalions and some of them are equipped with quite advanced platforms. How effective they'll be remains to be seen, but they could allow russia to propose a greater offensive threat in the coming months.
The long-trailed counter-offensive to retake the Russian-occupied regional powerhouse and symbolically powerful provincial capital has begun. But Ukraine’s forces are in no hurry. Visa and Mastercard are two of the world’s most profitable companies; we look at efforts to break their iron grip on the payments market. And the blue-blooded horseshoe crabs that are needlessly bled in their millions.
For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer