Has Russia given up on taking Kyiv? Experts are divided.

Damage to the Kyiv suburb of Borodyanka
(Image credit: Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

After Russian troops withdrew from the Kyiv region this week to re-focus Russia's invasion on eastern Ukraine, officials told CNN that the Ukrainian capital might not be entirely out of the woods just yet.

U.S. and European officials said Putin's long-term goals remain unclear and warned that he could launch another attack on the Kyiv region if the pivot to eastern Ukraine proves successful.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Ramani also argues, however, that Putin might not be satisfied with that outcome. "Putin's legacy to his core supporters could hinge on achieving the seemingly impossible: the subjugation of Ukraine," he writes. "As Putin fears backlash from hawks in his orbit more than anti-war demonstrators, a renewed Russian assault on Ukraine's major cities remains a possibility."

Others seemed more confident that Putin won't be back for a second attempt to capture Kyiv. "I think they learned their lesson," Peter Mansoor, a retired Army colonel and military history professor at Ohio State University, told The Associated Press.

Grayson Quay

Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-GazetteModern AgeThe American ConservativeThe Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.