Russian forces have regained the strategic initiative in Ukraine and will be able to pursue offensive operations in 2024, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote in its Feb. 26 report. President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb. 25 that the Russian military was preparing to launch a new offensive in the spring or early summer of this year. The ISW affirmed this assessment, noting Russia’s recent battlefield gains and the disappointments of Ukraine’s 2023 counteroffensive. “Russian forces have regained the theater-wide initiative and will be able to pursue offensive operations when and whe…