President Zelensky's suggestion that military attempts to retake the occupied territories could be abandoned in return for rapid NATO membership for Ukraine does mark a change in tack. What is driving this political-diplomatic adaptation?

And, in the second half, I draw on four books that speak in different ways to how Russia has managed (and sometimes failed) to adapt to the military and economic struggle, to bring them to this position.

The books are:

• Christopher Lawrence, The Battle for Kyiv (Frontline, 2023)
• Mick Ryan, The War for Ukraine. Strategy and adaptation under fire (Naval Institute Press, 2024)
• Stephanie Baker, Punishing Putin. Inside the global economic war to bring down Russia (Simon & Schuster, 2024)
• Charles Hecker, Zero Sum. The arc of international business in Russia (Hurst, 2024)

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