In the face of crippling sanctions and heavy losses, Russia appears to have changed its objectives for the war in Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade their neighbour on February 24 and, it is thought, hoped to swiftly capture capital Kyiv.
Volodymyr's Zelensky's government would be removed with a pro-Kremlin puppet government installed within days.
However that has not happened. Ukraine resistance has surprised not only Putin but also western intelligence officials who thought the war could be brief.
But the stiff resolve of Ukraine, and the support of NATO countries supplying them weapons and aid, has seen Russia suffer heavy casualties, including several generals.
Vladimir Putin's hopes for a swift victory such as when his forces annexed Crimea have vanished and instead his army is bogged down in a land war with a well-supplied Ukraine.
Efforts to shell cities such as Kyiv and Mariupol into submission have also failed.
Russia 'changes target'
When Russian troops invaded, in what the Kremlin still calls a 'special military operation', the Kremlin sought to seize Kyiv, overthrow Volodymyr's Zelensky's government and install a puppet leader.
Over a month on it seems their targets have changed.
Top Russian general Sergey Rudskoy said on Friday the "first stage" of Russia's "special military operation" has been mostly accomplished and that Russian forces will now concentrate on "the complete liberation of the Donbas".
Western officials say that Russia continues to experience setback after setback.
They believe General Rudskoy's announcement implies that Moscow knows that its ambitious pre-war strategy has failed.
"Russia is recognising that it can't pursue its operations on multiple axes simultaneously," one official said.
Leaked report brands invasion 'total failure'
A Russian whistleblower reportedly claimed a leaked report called the invasion a “total failure” and that there are “ no options for a possible victory ".
A so-called analyst in Russia's feared spy agency the FSB reportedly leaked the document which claims spies were kept in the dark over Putin's Ukraine plan.
Russian human rights activist and operator of the anti-corruption website Gulagu.net Vladimir Osechkin published the report on Facebook, reported The Times.
The report allegedly concluded: " Russia has no way out. There are no options for a possible victory, only defeat.”
Head of FSB's foreign intelligence branch placed on house arrest
Sergey Beseda, head of the Federal Security Branch, Russia's intelligence branch, was arrested along with his deputy, Anatoly Bolyukh, an expert claimed.
Vladimir Osechkin, an exiled Russian human rights activist also confirmed the arrests.
Mr Osechkin told The Times that while the arrests were made on accusations of embezzlement of funds, he said the “real reason is unreliable, incomplete and partially false information about the political situation in Ukraine”.
Member of Putin's inner circle admits invasion is going slower than planned
Viktor Zolotov, chief of Russia's national guard and a part of Putin's security council, admitted progress of the invasion had been slower than expected.
He said: "I would like to say that yes, not everything is going as fast as we would like," Zolotov said in comments posted on the National Guard's website.
"But we are going towards our goal step by step and victory will be for us."
Zolotov has been at Putin's side since before the turn of the century and has spent the last 13 years in charge of his personal security.
Russian brigade commander killed by own troops
One of Vladimir Putin's brigade commanders was killed by his own troops, it has been reported.
A furious Russian soldier drove over Russian Colonel Yuri Medvedev with a military tank on the frontline in protest, it has been claimed.
Angered by heavy losses suffered by the unit, he is said to have taken his commander down in front of other horrified soldiers.
Western officials confirmed the Russian general was killed "as a consequence of the scale of losses that had been taken by his brigade".
They added: "We believe that he was killed by his own troops deliberately. We believe that he was run over by his own troops."
The man who was behind the wheel of the tank “blamed the commander of the group, Col. Yury Medvedev, for the deaths of his friends.”
Russian generals killed
Lt Gen Yakov Rezantsev, was killed in a strike near the southern city of Kherson - the seventh general to die in the conflict.
He had been commander of Russia's 49th combined army.
It is thought that low morale among Russian troops has forced senior officers closer to the front line.
Russian soldiers agree to leave
A mayor in Slavutych occupied by Russian forces has been released from captivity and the soldiers have agreed to leave after a mass protest by residents.
Slavutych, a northern town close to the Chernobyl nuclear site, was taken by Russian forces but stun grenades and overhead fire failed to disperse unarmed protesters on its main square on Saturday.
The crowd demanded the release of mayor Yuri Fomichev, who had been taken prisoner by the Russian troops.
Attempts by Russian troops to intimidate the growing protest failed and on Saturday afternoon Fomichev was let go by his captors.
