We are now seeing large-scale devastation in civilian neighborhoods and population centers as Vladimir Putin's forces, still struggling to maintain supply lines and now suffering significant damage both from command incompetence and Ukrainian defenses, have turned to artillery attacks and firing cluster bombs at civilian targets.
The lack of preparedness and seeming tactical incompetence of Russia's forces remain a major story, but Russia's forces remain large enough to potentially achieve their objectives through simple destruction—and that is the strategy Putin's generals have now clearly adopted. Ukraine is bracing for untold civilian casualties as weapons and supplies continue to stream into the country.
It remains difficult to imagine any scenario in which Ukraine can repel the Russian invasion outright—but it continues to inflict heavy casualties on Russian forces, making Putin's attempt at conquest a perilously costly gamble even in the absence of the unprecedented regime of international sanctions that have now shuttered large parts of the nation's economy. Updates on today's events: