We don’t hear much about the Proxy War these days from our plucky pro-Ukraine commenters. But the media narrative remains a tall-tale of Russian frustration, with the valiant Ukrainians supposedly having stopped the Russian war machine in its tracks from achieving any of its goals.

Let’s check how the Proxy War scorecard looks so far. It’s still possible to find early articles sneeringly describing Russia’s original goals for its Ukraine invasion. Here are Putin’s four announced goals, which never included taking territory, along with each goal’s current status:

De-nazify Ukraine. Status: almost finished! The last few surviving Nazi brigades are running on fumes.

De-militarize Ukraine. Status: well underway. Most of Ukraine’s military-aged males are dead or sitting in the shooting range, and its own arsenal has long since been destroyed.

Prevent Ukraine from Joining NATO. Status: partially complete. Ukraine has not joined NATO.

Ensure Ukraine’s Neutrality. Status: yet to be completed, presumably in a final peace deal.

But that’s not all. Russia has gained at least four major, unexpected benefits:

A Record-setting economy. For the first time in history, Russia is now designated as a “high income” country. Sanctions are working great.

A Land Bridge to Crimea. Russia has taken enough land to completely surround the Sea of Azov, which even Peter the Great couldn’t do.

Military Growth. Russia’s military is bigger, stronger, more experienced, and better-supplied than ever.

Deeper Alliances. Russia’s alliances have grown stronger and deeper as the non-Western world watched it defy the collective West while being the more reasonable and honest party.

In every measurable way, gauged by its original aims, Russia is slowly and surely winning the Proxy War. Media ignores these inconvenient facts like a stack of dirty dishes next to an empty dishwasher. But lately, media coverage has significantly changed in one way. Namely, nearly every article now mentions negotiations.

With just a little more bad battlefront news, Ukraine could be willing to make concessions. My prediction is that, after the DNC, Russia will make a big move.