Some of Ukraine's allies have started wondering whether the counteroffensive against Russia is getting bogged down, to the irritation of Kyiv, which says it needs more weapons, not criticism.
Over the past two weeks U.S. media have been quoting anonymous military sources questioning Ukraine's strategy, and saying its armed forces are too dispersed to pierce Russian defensive lines.
"Recently a new narrative has started to take hold in some commentaries on the state of the war, notably from Pentagon officials, to the effect that the offensive is turning out to be a deep disappointment," Lawrence Freedman, professor emeritus at King's College London, wrote last month. "Questions are now being raised about whether this is a war that Ukraine can ever win."