As Vladimir Putin looks out from behind the Kremlin's red walls, Russia's paramount leader of 22 years has a riddle to solve: How to win a war in Ukraine that the West says he has already lost.
Three weeks into its invasion, Russia is battling fierce resistance from Western-armed Ukrainian forces. It has yet to achieve its stated aims and its heavily sanctioned economy faces the deepest crisis since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union.
Russia, where journalists risk jail if they use the term "invasion," says its special military operation is going to plan and that despite sanctions it can fare well without what it casts as a deceitful and decadent West led by the United States.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.