Russian forces are currently “stalling on all fronts” according to the UK’s ministry of defence’s latest update.
Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine three weeks ago has caused devastation across the country, and more than three million people have now fled from the warzone in the largest refugee crisis since World War 2.
The intense bombing of civilians has stunned the international community, and according to Statista.com, 726 Ukrainians have been killed so far.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian authorities said Russia’s attacks had become even more violent, after dropping a bomb on a theatre where 1,200 were sheltering in Mariupol. In the capital Kyiv, people were allegedly shot while queuing for bread.
Yet, the ministry of defence tweeted its daily update on the ongoing war on Thursday and said Russia’s military efforts were still not going to plan.
“The Russian invasion of Ukraine has largely stalled on all fronts,” it said.
“Ukrainian resistance remains staunch and well-coordinated. The vast majority of Ukrainian territory, including all major cities, remains in Ukrainian hands.”
Why is it failing?
Former Russian foreign minister Andrei Kozyrev, who worked in government in the 1990s, wrote a Twitter thread at the beginning of March explaining why he thought Putin had made three basic miscalculations when it came to launching his offensive in the first place.
He claimed the Russian president “started to believe his own propagandists that Ukraine is run by a Nazi-Bandera junta”.
Kozyrev also alleged “The Kremlin spent the last 20 years trying to modernise its military. Much of that budget was stolen and spent on mega-yachts in Cyprus. But as a military advisor you cannot report that to the President. So they reported lies to him instead.”
He described this as a “Potemkin” military, meaning it’s an impressive facade.
There is speculation Putin could turn to his nuclear weapons if he starts to fear he is losing the war, but Kozyrev claimed that as long as the Russian leader is being “rational” he would not initiate a nuclear war.
Does Putin think Russia is losing?
The Russian leader has not publicly acknowledged how his troops are struggling in Ukraine.
Instead, Putin has maintained that the operation was unravelling “successfully” and “in strict accordance with pre-approved plans”.
During a chilling broadcast on Wednesday, the Russian president even called for a “necessary self-purification of society” to remove anyone who questions his decision to invade Ukraine.
He blamed any dissidents who oppose his actions on the West, claiming Russia “will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors and will simply spit them out like a gnat that accidentally flew into their mouths”.
He concluded: “I am convinced that such a natural and necessary self-purification of society will only strengthen our country.”