VLADIMIR PUTIN risks a “horrible draw” in Ukraine, and according to Express.co.uk, the world can expect to bear the brunt of the Russian President’s war for “many decades.”

The Russian President appears to be on the verge of his first significant victory in Ukraine, with the vital port city of Mariupol on the verge of collapse. Putin directed his forces in Mariupol to blockade Ukrainian troops camped out at the Azovstal steelworks, the city’s last remaining Ukrainian stronghold. Russia has bombed the southern port city relentlessly for nearly two months, destroying 90 percent of the buildings.

British intelligence indicates that Russian forces are eager to demonstrate significant success in Ukraine by Victory Day, May 9, the anniversary of the Allies’ World War II victory over Nazi Germany.

Putin’s victory in Mariupol would establish an uninterrupted land corridor stretching from Crimea in the south to Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.

Jonathan Jackson, a senior teaching fellow in policing and security at Birmingham City University, it may be “too little, too late” for Putin and his troops.

He said: “Ukraine could certainly be able to hold and contain Russian forces to the east and south of the country and has well-defended positions on both battlegrounds.

“The Russian military command and control is certainly improving, but it may be a case of too little, too late to decide the outcome in their favor.

“This conflict may require western audiences to reimagine what ‘winning’ may look like, and rather than a clear winner, it is likely to instead become a horrible draw, with legacies and hatreds spanning many decades into the future.”

He added: “The Ukrainians may not have the resources needed to launch effective counterattacks and push the Russian forces out without NATO boots on the ground, which President Biden has already ruled off the table.

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