Russian President Vladimir Putin’s definition of victory in Ukraine has significantly downscaled since the 2022 invasion, from initial ambitions of regime change and “demilitarization” to more limited territorial goals like controlling the Donbas and holding a land bridge to Crimea.

Russia launched its largest aerial assault of its three-year war on Ukraine overnight, targeting the capital and other regions with missiles and drones for a second night in a row, even as the two sides prepared to conclude a major prisoner exchange.