Putin is now not only losing the war in Ukraine, but also losing his grip on the misinformation. The claim that 600 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in a retaliation attack in Kramatorsk was easily proven false. A few artillery shots were fired against two empty university dormitories, one of which was not even hit. No casualties. No bodies, no blood, no rescue crews, no debris, no sign of damage.
Another claim that a "region" called Bakhmutske was "liberated" by Russian forces may be true, but even so, it would be a tiny victory in the midst of massive losses. Bakhmutske is a small residential area some 10 km outside Bakhmut. It's only a few blocks, barely a village, with a few blocks of abandoned houses and a school that has been closed for months. The name is similar to the city of Bakhmut, which Ukraine is successfully defending against Russian attacks. It's quite clear that this was a cherry-picked piece of "good news" in an attempt to fool some extremely gullible Russians into thinking that Putin is actually winning on any front.
This is what losing looks like. I can't help comparing this to "Baghdad Bob", the loyal servant of Saddam Hussein who was giving a televised speech from the rooftops in the final moments of the invasion of Iraq, claiming with fervor and conviction that his forces were winning and that the invaders were sent fleeing for their lives, even while the Western allied troops could be seen in the background, advancing into the city with nothing to oppose them.
The war is not over yet, but Putin has very obviously lost it.
