Ukraine War Apparently Not Going Russia's Way

The tide may be turning in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and not in the direction Russia wants it to be. A number of recent reports indicate things don't seem to be going so well for Russia:

• NATO's take: "Russia's war in Ukraine is not going as Moscow had planned," NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, per the BBC. "They failed to take Kyiv, they are pulling back from around Kharkiv, their major offensive in Donbas has stalled. Russia is not achieving its strategic objectives" and Ukraine could emerge victorious, Stoltenberg said.
• NATO's take, part 2: NATO's deputy secretary general echoed that: "With significant support from allies and partners in billions of dollars, in military support, in financial support, humanitarian support, we know that with the bravery of the Ukrainian people and army and with our help, Ukraine can win this war," Mircea Geoana told reporters.

• Lost forces: The UK's Ministry of Defense estimates Russia has likely lost a third of its invasion force, the Guardian reports. Furthermore, its campaign in the eastern part of the country, which was already held, in part, by pro-Russia separatists, has "lost momentum" and is "significantly behind schedule," the MoD says. Over the past month, it says, Russia has experienced "consistently high levels of attrition" but few gains in the region, and the MoD predicts there will be no dramatic acceleration over the next month.
• Morale: "Russian forces are increasingly constrained by degraded enabling capabilities, continued low morale and reduced combat effectiveness," the MoD adds in its statement.

• "Nordic Nightmare": With Finland and Sweden getting ever closer to NATO membership, the New York Times looks at Russian President Vladimir Putin's "Nordic Nightmare" that appears to be on the verge of becoming reality. The paper says this issue is just one of "a mounting list of setbacks" for him. Full story here.
• "Detached from reality": Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair weighed in Sunday on CNN, according to Newsweek. Putin is "now completely detached from reality and surrounded by people who won't tell him the truth. And this is why this incredible miscalculation, I mean leave aside the wickedness of it, the miscalculation strategically and in every possible way has been enormous."
• Cancer? Ukraine's head of military intelligence gave an interview to Sky News in which he claimed Putin is seriously ill with cancer and that a coup to remove him from power is underway in Russia. He predicted the war with Ukraine will be over by the end of this year. There have been other recent rumors of Putin's supposed health woes.

(More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)