> The Russians, which we believed to be inferior, actually adapted to the task and without mobilization are winning.
The Russians are mobilizing. If you read the Institute for the Study of War's daily briefings on Ukraine (which is based entirely on open-source intelligence), it's clear that Russians are trying everything short of a draft to patch up their manpower numbers.
And Russia is most definitely not winning. Five months into the war, their original intentions of a lightning-quick decapitation of Kyiv failed, followed by the failure of their attempt to press it by force. Similarly, Kharkiv--a day's march from the Russian border--remains unbesieged. Zaporizhzhia and the Dnieper River remain largely in Ukrainian hands. Advances to Odessa have been repeatedly checked, and Russia not long ago retreated from Snake Island. Russians have successfully advanced in the Izyum region, not to mention Marioupol, but they are losing ground in the Kherson region, and the latest attacks show that even Crimea is within attack range of Ukraine. I'd hardly say that Ukraine is winning either, but Russia is most certainly not in a position of strength here.
The Russians are mobilizing. If you read the Institute for the Study of War's daily briefings on Ukraine (which is based entirely on open-source intelligence), it's clear that Russians are trying everything short of a draft to patch up their manpower numbers.
And Russia is most definitely not winning. Five months into the war, their original intentions of a lightning-quick decapitation of Kyiv failed, followed by the failure of their attempt to press it by force. Similarly, Kharkiv--a day's march from the Russian border--remains unbesieged. Zaporizhzhia and the Dnieper River remain largely in Ukrainian hands. Advances to Odessa have been repeatedly checked, and Russia not long ago retreated from Snake Island. Russians have successfully advanced in the Izyum region, not to mention Marioupol, but they are losing ground in the Kherson region, and the latest attacks show that even Crimea is within attack range of Ukraine. I'd hardly say that Ukraine is winning either, but Russia is most certainly not in a position of strength here.