Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has admitted that the long-promised counteroffensive against Russian forces has not delivered the results that some Western observers expected. Amid mounting losses, Zelensky insisted that he would not discuss peace with Moscow.
https://www.rt.com/russia/578402-zelensky-counteroffensive-progress-slow/
Your expectation is only prejudice, not proof. So far, the Russians have been playing it straight. The Ukrainians have issued hoax after hoax, roundly debunked.
Oh yeah I am far more inclined to believe the Russian side of this than the western/Ukrainian side. But I have to recognize that I have no way of directly knowing what is actually happening over there, and also that I expect both sides to say they are winning. There is simply no way to know with certainty.
So far as I have experienced, the Russian "side" has said only "here's what's happening." The bloggers draw conclusions, but generally are rational enough not to count chickens before they have hatched. Ukraine is all over the place with "Winning!" The numbers are indicative of who will win.
Listen to interviews with Col. Douglas Macgregor and Scott Ritter to get a good, objective assessment of where matters stand and where they are likely to go.
It has come to the point where you can almost count on whatever the U.S. government says to be either a lie or a misdirection.