Seven months ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine. By all accounts, he expected victory to be rapid and relatively easy. That has not been the case. Russia's invasion forces have suffered heavy casualties. The British ministry of defense estimates that at least 25,000 Russian soldiers have been killed, and several times that number wounded. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that the number is likely much higher. Russia's best units, in some cases, have been so depleted they are combat-ineffective, and Russia has also suffered great losses in equipment and material more generally.
The Russians are literally running out of trained soldiers to engage in sustained offensive operations, leading to Putin's recent order to call up 300,000 reserves. There are indications that the Russian military now lacks the ability to hold the Ukrainian territory it still controls. After the Ukrainian military's successful offensive in the Kharkiv region and incremental successes elsewhere, Russia's military has been exposed as a hollow force. At almost every key juncture, the Ukrainians have demonstrated superior mastery of the operational art of war, although that has clearly been facilitated by the technical and logistical assistance provided by the U.S. and other Western allies.
