Russia losing momentum, says NATO as small wins buoy Ukraine: Report

As the Russian war entered day 82, developments in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and Ukrainian defenders staging sturdy resistance against invading troops have resulted in some notable wins on and off the battlefield. Meanwhile, the Western leaders, citing intelligence analysis have also flagged that Russia is losing momentum in Ukraine due to logistical and moral issues. "Ukraine can win this war," NATO General-Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said, during a virtual address to the military bloc's informal meeting in Berlin.

On the other hand, Finland and Sweden acted on their long-awaited plan to join NATO membership despite strong Russian opposition. Helinski on Sunday stated that the Russian war in Ukraine has changed the "security landscape" in Europe, thus, leaving them no option but to scrap its age-old non-alliance status. Hours later, Sweden too followed the suit and cleared the air over its potential membership request to NATO in the coming days. While the intergovernmental military bloc calls it to be a defensive expansion, Russia describes it as a threat to its territorial borders.

Russia losing momentum in Ukraine

The UK and US intelligence reports in the past weeks have suggested that the invading Russian forces are gradually facing logistical and moral issues, leading to "incredible losses" in Ukraine. According to British intel, higher infantry losses, repelled airstrikes and reduced combat effectiveness in Central Ukraine, and led Russia to focus its offensive in the east. "In some areas (of Luhansk and Donetsk regions) the staffing of (Russian) units as a consequence of hostilities, is less than 20%," Ukraine Armed forces General Staff spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun said late on Sunday, as quoted by CNN. Meanwhile, Russian forces have also been trying to push south from Izium, but in vain.

"Russia's war in Ukraine is not going as Moscow has planned. It failed to take Kyiv. They are pulling back around Kharkiv, their major offensive in Donbass has stalled. Russia is not achieving its strategic objectives," Stoltenberg said on Sunday.

Britain's intel report also suggests that Russia may have lost as much as one-third of its ground forces committed when it began the war in Ukraine. The report added that although Russia has deployed about 100 tactical battalion groups to the offensive in Donbass, these troops are lacking strength. However, the assessment warned that the losses could trigger Moscow to "dramatically accelerate its rate or advance over the next 30 days."

Eurovision Song Contest major boost to Ukraine's morale

The global win at the Eurovision Song Contest was a major morale boost for Ukraine amid the three-month-long running war. Kalush Orchestra, a folk-rap ensemble won the competition after it sang Stefania in the finale, a song that has been a popular anthem recently. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has promised to hold the next event of the Eurovision Song Contest as a customary winner's honor.

Despite the losses, Russia has continued to inflict damage to life and property in Ukraine. A grinding battle to "liberate" pro-Russian separatist-held regions is underway with invaders launching arbitrary airstrikes on residential buildings, forcing residents to take underground shelters. Meanwhile, the situation in Mariupol has remained dire with a majority of its territory under Russian control except for the metallurgical plant where at least a thousand defenders have refused to surrender.

(Image: AP)