One Week In, Ukrainians Hold On To Kyiv, Face Losses In South

It’s now been more than one week since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, bringing what at first seemed to be the full power of Russia’s military to bear on its neighbor.

But in recent days, many who expected a swift victory for Moscow, replete with heavy use of airpower and a well-coordinated offensive, have been left scratching their heads.

Some ask, where’s the Russian air force? Others focus on a 40-mile long convoy of Russian vehicles on the road to Kyiv, which appears to be stuck in a week-long traffic jam.

That’s not to say the situation for Ukraine isn’t grim. Russian troops appear to be occupying Kherson, a major port city in the south, and are pressing an offensive in that area.

Putin shows no sign of changing course. He told French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday that Russia remains committed to its war goals, and that its “tasks will be fulfilled no matter what.”

An aide to Macron told reporters that the French president told Putin that he was making a “major mistake” in Ukraine and that he was “lying to himself.”

According to the Kremlin readout, the war is “going according to plan.”