Ukrainian optimism fades at start of another winter of war

Rumours of tensions at the top, exhaustion after two years of fighting and frustration with allies dampen the mood in Kyiv

There is a subtle yet unmistakable sense of gloom in Kyiv at the moment, and not only because of the dark afternoons and plunging mercury of an eastern European November. A number of internal and external factors have combined to create perhaps the most downbeat mood about the prospects for a swift and decisive Ukrainian victory over Russia since the first weeks of the full-scale invasion.

At the end of last year and beginning of this one, there was such euphoria. Now we see the other extreme, the down, and I guess we will see some ups and downs for some time to come," said Bartosz Cichocki, who last month finished a four-year posting as Poland's ambassador in Kyiv.