Russian losses keep mounting, it is unable to control any major city in Ukraine

The war between Russia and Ukraine is into its second week. Kremlin describes it not as a war but a “special military operation.” That is how President Vladimir V. Putin looks at it. He believes that everything is going according to plan. However, the ground realities tend to paint a different picture. Russia has not been able to seize and control any of the major cities or population centers. These include Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odessa. In the process, Russia has lost many of its weapons and soldiers. The government of Ukraine has indicated the Russian losses as staggering.

NYTimes dated 8 March 2022 says loss of Russian soldiers is in excess of 12000. The Ukraine military has shot down or destroyed 48 of their airplanes and 80 helicopters. It has also captured or destroyed 303 tanks and innumerable mechanized vehicles and cars. Moreover, they have even taken out two Russian naval vessels, including a warship and blown up dozens of fuel tanker and mobile missile launching systems. These figures are difficult to verify but President Volodymyr Zelensky said - “Russia has not lost as much aircraft in the past 30 years as in 13 days in Ukraine.” Incidentally, satellite imagery tends to suggest loss of roughly 950 Russian vehicles. These include 140 tanks that have either been destroyed or damaged.