The war in Russia has increasingly become a war of attrition, with western officials concerned over diminishing awareness regarding Ukraine. In particular, Russia has been able to rely on America’s ‘short attention span,’ with the war starting to take the backseat in American media in light of ongoing gun violence.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated this in a meeting with President Biden, asking Western nations to brace for a “war of attrition.” For many, the war of attrition has already begun. Slow-moving fights across the Donbas have created a rather static frontline compared to Russia’s initial advance and routing near Kyiv.
Per Ukraine, the Russian advance from Popasna has resumed, and Russia is in control of 50-70% of the city. Ukraine and the United Kingdom also assessed that Russia could resume its Izyum offensive to take the city of Sloviansk. The United Kingdom estimated that Russia could take complete control of Luhansk over the course of the next two weeks. However, the ISW reiterated that Russia has had difficulties in ‘freezing’ conflict zones and quelling partisan warfare. Russia has been forced to resort to forceful methods, including forced deportation and the potential introduction of Russian citizens, amounting to localized ethnic cleansing.
World Affairs International 
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