Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entered its long grind phase, we’ve heard less about it in the news. But while Russia continues to inflict unconscionable harm and damage on Ukraine, the Ukrainians continue to fight back and force them to pay a heavy price for it.

It’s hard to know for sure how it's going because Russia’s news is pure propaganda. But this phone call, reportedly from a Russian soldier home to his girlfriend and intercepted by Ukrainian officials, paints a bleak picture of Russia’s military efforts (if this call itself isn’t propaganda).

https://www.thedailybeast.com/were-losing-but-moscow-will-never-admit-it-russian-soldier-says

For those interested in weaponry and war strategy, the StrategyPage website has been monitoring the situation closely since the beginning. They confirm that Russia is struggling, despite its superior forces and artillery, because the Ukrainians are finally getting the weaponry they begged NATO for, they’re very fast learners at using it, and they’re fighting for their homeland while the Russian troops don’t even know why they’re there.

https://strategypage.com/htmw/htwin/articles/20220719.aspx

Russia is increasingly targeting civilians and trying to use them as human shields, either out of callousness or more likely, desperation. The page also considers what China might be thinking as they watch this unfold. They’re seeing the limits of military aggression against a determined populace fighting for their homeland (think Taiwan.) They’re also seeing Russia, which it was feared would become a superpower ally for China against the US, being severely weakened and possibly becoming a “paranoid…nuclear-armed dependent state, much like North Korea.”  

As Prof. Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit puts it, it’s too late for Russia to win a non-Pyrrhic victory, and at this point, he doubts that even a Pyrrhic victory is possible.

It’s looking more and more like a lot of death and destruction with no gain and for no reason.