Ready, steady, slow: Ukraine’s bid for Kherson

<p>The long-trailed counter-offensive to retake the Russian-occupied regional <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2022/08/30/why-does-kherson-matter?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">powerhouse</a> and symbolically powerful provincial capital <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2022/08/29/ukraine-starts-a-push-to-recapture-kherson-a-crucial-russian-occupied-city?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">has begun</a>. But Ukraine’s forces are in no hurry. Visa and Mastercard are two of the world’s most profitable companies; we look at efforts to break their <a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2022/08/17/can-the-visa-mastercard-duopoly-be-broken?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">iron grip</a> on the payments market. And the blue-blooded horseshoe crabs that are needlessly bled in their millions.</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></p><p><br></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>