Gambling on Mr Putin’s word of honour now looks like a mistake. Debaltseve has fallen, representing a pro-Russian victory and the second time that a cease-fire attempt has been shamelessly undone. Mr Putin, speaking during a visit to Hungary, poured scorn upon the Ukrainians and their army: “To lose is always painful,” he reportedly said. “It’s a hardship especially when you lose to yesterday’s miners and tractor drivers. But life is life.” For the Russian president to visit the EU and taunt the West so blatantly suggests that enforcing the vague promises of Minsk Two will be difficult, to say the least. Mr Putin’s ethnic nationalism is as strong as ever.