But that loss will be mitigated by the remarkable thwarting of Mr. Putin’s original plan to take over Kyiv and destroy Ukraine as a nation.
What? That was never the stated objective. The whole three days to Kiev line didn't from Russia either. Russia never wanted to destroy Ukraine as a nation, though that may very well be the functional result thanks to NATO.
Imagine trying to spin "our opponent didn't destroy our capital!" as a victory when they weren't even trying to do that.