Russia fails to achieve goals in 500 days of war against Ukraine - ISW

This is stated in the report of the Institute for the Study of War.

"Five hundred days ago Russia launched an unprovoked war of conquest against Ukraine. The Russian military intended to take Kyiv within three days but failed to accomplish any of its intended objectives in Ukraine," the ISW said.

Experts believe that the resolute and skilful Ukrainian resistance led to the culmination of numerous Russian offensives, including on Kyiv. It also allowed the liberation of Ukrainian regions that had been temporarily seized by Russian troops.

"Ukrainian forces have secured and retained the initiative and are conducting counteroffensive operations along most of the frontline with Russian forces focused almost entirely on trying to hold on to the Ukrainian lands they still occupy," the ISW report said.

The Institute also noted that, with the help of the West, Ukraine has secured its independence, but faces the critical task of liberating strategically important territory that is still under Russian control.

Results of 500 days of full-scale war in Ukraine

On 8 July, Deputy Minister of Defence Hanna Maliar summed up the results of 500 days of Russia's large-scale war against Ukraine. "497 days ago, we destroyed the expectations of 'Kyiv in three days' and the myth of the 'second army of the world'. 462 days ago, we liberated the Kyiv region and the north of Ukraine, and for the first time the Russian media started talking about our retreat as a "gesture of goodwill," Maliar said.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy honoured the memory of Ukrainian heroes on Snake Island. The Head of State posted relevant videos from the island on his social media pages.

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said that three times as many civilians had been killed in the last 500 days of the full-scale invasion as in the previous 8 years of fighting in eastern Ukraine.

The Office of the Prosecutor General also summed up the results of 500 days of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine: 94,000 war crimes, 10,500 killed Ukrainian civilians and almost 500 children.