Nearly 1,000 days into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has failed to meet any of his major strategic goals.
Endured Despite Russian Efforts
This comes from U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in an editorial for Foreign Affairs, as reported by The Kyiv Independent and Hotnews.
Austin noted that Ukraine’s leadership and defense forces have endured despite Russian efforts, stating that “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not flee, Kyiv did not fall, and Ukraine did not surrender.”
When Russia launched its invasion in early 2022, Putin’s objectives included capturing Kyiv, toppling Ukraine’s leadership, and claiming the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine.
A Heavy Price for Russia
This mission, according to Kremlin narratives, was a “demilitarization and denazification” campaign, targeting Ukraine’s government. However, these efforts quickly faltered, with Russian forces only fully occupying Luhansk while continuing to struggle to secure Donetsk.
In the editorial, Austin highlighted the heavy price Russia has paid in pursuing these objectives.
He described Putin’s “imperial ambition” as costing Russia more than $200 billion in military expenditures, with the Ukrainian military estimating that Russian forces have suffered nearly 700,000 casualties, including both those killed and injured, since February 2022.
Faced with these challenges, Putin has reportedly narrowed his ambitions to capturing the broader Donbas region, which includes both Donetsk and Luhansk.
However, despite redoubled efforts in these areas, Russian forces continue to encounter Ukrainian resistance.
