A MONTH after Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the unexpected resilience of the Ukrainian people has meant Vladimir Putin's military was not fulfilling the very swift takeover of the country he had planned. Instead, the courage of Ukraine's military and civilian population has surprised and impressed the whole world. Thousands of Russian soldiers have been slain - with the Ukrainians claiming 14,000 casualties, although US intelligence claims it's nearer to 7,000. Either way, it will be a lot more than was ever envisaged by Putin. Having failed to gain air superiority over Ukraine, Russia has resorted to launching long-range strikes from outside the country to avoid putting its aircraft in unnecessary danger. Tu-95 Bears and Tu-160 Blackjacks strategic bombers operating over Belarus and western Russia have fired Kh-55 air launched cruise missiles. While the first combat use of the Khinzal('Dagger') air-launched ballistic missiles was confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Defence in an announcement on March 19 that the hypersonic weapon had been deployed for the first time against an underground arms depot in western Ukraine, near the village of Deliatyn, about 60 miles from the Romanian border. The following day, the Russian MOD claimed a second strike with a Khinzal missile had destroyed a fuel depot in Konstantinovka in the Mykolaiv region of southern Ukraine. Russia has also provoked outrage due to the use of cluster bombs, which scatter sub-munitions over a wide area. Their use is prohibited against civilians under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, to which 123 nations have committed to date, although Russia is not one of them. Putin's threat on February 27 of using a nuclear option during the invasion also brought worldwide concern and still remains a threat.
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