A war-on-the-ground account arguing Russia is winning and slowly grinding forward, framed as bad news for Ukraine and the West despite heavy losses on both sides.

• Europe is ramping up its military spending and weapons shipments, and Putin says the West is now openly preparing for war with Russia.
• Germany sent 6,000 new drones to Ukraine, and the UK is testing long-range missiles to help hit Moscow directly.
• Russian forces are still advancing on the front and closing in on key Donbas towns; both sides are losing thousands of troops a week.
• Drone warfare has changed the war — slower, deadlier, and harder for older Russian commanders who stick to old tactics.
• The claim that Ukraine is winning and Putin is about to quit is dismissed as Western information warfare, though Russia's death toll is admitted to be very high.

Outlook: Expect Russia to keep grinding forward and develop better anti-drone tools, with the brutal back-and-forth drone war dragging on with no quick end.