On February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine for the second time in eight years. While many assumed that the war would be short, a stiff Ukrainian defense halted and then successfully counter-attacked against the Russian advances on Kyiv, Sumy, and Kharkiv. After capturing Kherson, Russia鈥檚 main advance from occupied Crimea in the south toward Mykolaiv also stalled. At the time of writing, Ukrainian forces are beginning a counterattack in that region and are located approximately 12 miles outside Kherson city center.
Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov coastline, fell to the Russians on May 22 after Ukrainian forces made a heroic last stand in the Azovstal iron and steel works. This capture allowed Russia to create a land bridge from the Russian Federation to occupied Crimea. Mariupol鈥檚 capture also turned the Sea of Azov into a Russian lake.鈥�1 In the Donbas, which is arguably Russia鈥檚 main effort at this stage of the war, Russian troops have made limited advances at a very high cost in equipment and manpower. In late June, Russian forces captured Sievierodonetsk after weeks of heavy fighting, leaving Russia in control of Ukraine鈥檚 Luhansk Oblast.
Ukrainians are currently defending a front line that is approximately 1,250 miles long鈥攖his is equal to the straight- line distance from Washington, DC, to Houston, Texas. Russian public opinion still supports the war.鈥�2 While Russia鈥檚 advancements in the Donbas have been slow and costly, there is no indication that Moscow will stop its offensive anytime soon. President Vladimir Putin knows that his legacy rides on Russia鈥檚 victory or defeat in Ukraine.