Ukraine's military says it recently did major damage to Russian units looking to cross a key river in the northeastern part of the country, inflicting what it says were hundreds of casualties among Russian soldiers ... and a significant loss of armor and equipment. And yet the situation on the ground in both Eastern and Southern Ukraine hasn't changed much in recent days.

The war has ground into a stalemate that neither side seems totally capable of winning ... and yet neither side is ready to make concessions.

Meanwhile there's a possible fly in the ointment in what looked to be a sure-thing expansion of NATO, by welcoming Finland and Sweden into the alliance. Today Turkey's president raised concerns about allowing the two Nordic countries to join NATO under rushed timetables.

It could all be a negotiating ploy to make sure Turkey, which maintains one of NATO's most powerful militaries, gets something out of the deal.

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