Follow more closely and you'll see how serious the situation is for Ukraine. Ukraine is currently claiming about 150 soldiers KIA per day, and hundreds more wounded. It's not so much the territory that matters, it is the condition of the army.

The Mighty Russian Army is taking a slow, grinding approach to the war. Everyone thought Ukraine would just roll over in the early days, and I think so did the Russians. When that didn't happen the Russians settled in for a longer fight.

As for Putin being a bully...perhaps. But this war would have been avoidable if everyone had just stuck to the Minsk 2 agreement.