All of this begs the question: in the end, was the Kursk offensive worth it? Actually, people have posed that question from the very beginning. When Kiev was deliberating over the invasion, some generals doubted the benefits would be worth the cost.

Ukrainian troops sprang one of the biggest surprises of the war by invading Russia's Kursk region last August, and Russia has taken more than seven months to eject them.

Terrible though it is, Ukraine’s forced withdrawal from Kursk makes peace negotiations with Russia more likely. Indeed had Putin not been able to drive the Ukrainian army out, he is unlikely to have even contemplated peace talks.