World Affairs International

One month into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Putin’s army has been met with a disastrous failure. By being unable to take crucial targets early in the war using aerial assets and not assuming complete air superiority within the first few days, Russia has doomed its war of aggression to a bitter and resounding defeat, achieving none of its strategic or political goals. The only way Russia could make a breakthrough remains through escalation with weapons of mass destruction. Still, members of the Russian government have stated that nuclear weapons would only be used to defend against a direct threat to the Russian state. Whether this holds true or whether Russia will employ chemical or biological assets remains to be seen.

Russian naval forces have begun firing from Sevastopol into Mariupol. With the surrender ultimatum rejected by the Ukrainian defenders, the Russian army has started moving into the now widely leveled city. This has put pressure on an already strained humanitarian crisis, with reports of kidnapped Ukrainian civilians ferried into Russian-occupied territories in the Donbas.

Moreover, serious reports of rape are now being confirmed. Since the beginning of the war, reports of rape in occupied cities like Kherson were widespread but unverifiable in the chaos of war. Now, a case of rape has been documented and is under official investigation, following reports of two Russian soldiers shooting and killing a man and then sexually assaulting his wife. With the 22nd marking a month of warfare, it is almost certainly not the sole case during this war.