The Russo-Ukrainian War has taken a sharp turn in Ukraine’s favor. After months of grueling, WWI-style artillery duels and Russian atrocities, we’re seeing Ukrainian forces defeating Russia on every front. This is wildly dramatic progress!

We knew Ukraine would begin its counter-offensive before the fall rains started, but this offensive has been so much more effective than we had any right to expect. As of this writing, Ukraine has recovered roughly 1600 square kilometers of occupied land. By comparison, you could measure the past few months of Russian advances in meters. And, where Russia focused on pulverizing civilian population centers, Ukraine forces are attacking the fleeing Russian troops, capturing wide swaths of territory and heavy equipment and supplies the fleeing Russians just abandoned.

I have no idea why most American sources aren’t showing better reporting. It’s been going on all day, and there’s a wealth of high-quality, open-source reporting to confirm it. The information is widely available. Ukraine is defeating Russia, and all we hear is stilted nonsense and crickets.

As always, I recommend the Ukraine Updates on the Daily Kos. They are writing excellent summaries once or twice daily. It’s fabulous reporting that’s miles ahead of the Washington Post, New York Times, or any of the broadcast ‘giants.’ This is the most recent Ukraine Update as of this writing, but there’ll be more recent updates by the time you read this.

The Russian defense is crumbling. It’s astonishing. Ukraine will have to pause before they’re badly overextended. They are capturing more POWs than they can easily process, and Ukrainian logistics still have to catch up to their new salients. But we’re watching Ukraine defeating Russia, and it’s wonderful.