The words American journalists are using to describe what's happened to Russian troops

in Ukraine this week.

They're not kind.

Humiliating is how the New York Times put it.

The Washington Post went with embarrassing.

Slates Fred Kaplan, our war stories correspondent, hit a grue with all of those descriptors.

After all, within a matter of days, Ukraine has managed to push Russian troops to the

east so aggressively that some are said to have peddled out on bicycles, leaving their tanks

behind.

But Fred is not surprised by any of this.

He says we've always known Ukrainian troops could mount an offensive like this.

What's clear now is how quickly they can do it.

What I've been surprised by is the speed with which they've mounted this counteroffensive

and how far it's gone.

You know, taking more than a thousand square miles in a matter of a couple of days, I mean,

that's extraordinary by almost anything in the annals of military history.

You've called it a wild success.

I mean, it really is.

They being the Ukrainians.

And their American advisors.

This sudden route has caught Russia by surprise, too.

You could tell that much if you checked out Russian state TV over the weekend.

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