It is widely believed that Russian leadership expected its all-out invasion of Ukraine to succeed within days.
Twenty days later, Ukraine still stands, and Russia has no major victories to claim. It seized only one large city and regional center, Kherson in southern Ukraine.
To force Ukraine to surrender, Russia has shelled civilians in residential areas and attacked military and civilian infrastructure, including schools, kindergartens, and hospitals, all across the country.
Photos of Kharkiv’s wrecked downtown and a destroyed maternity hospital in Mariupol have appeared on the front pages of newspapers all over the world.
Since Feb. 24, Russia’s aggression has killed thousands of Ukrainians, forced some three million to flee, and left cities and villages in ruins.
Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka, Mstyslav Chernov, Getty Images, Volodymyr Petrov reposted from Instagram