I just have no confidence that we can really know anything for sure one way or another. The media so far (in the West) ranges from tangibly self-conscious to overt propaganda, much of which is proven false a day later. There is no harm in this in itself, propaganda is as much part of the war as any other part, I get that, but I at this point I wouldn't be surprised that Russia is doing much better than what is being…
Huh? War is incredibly harmful to civilian infrastructure, and propaganda is similarly harmful to our ability to communicate.
Putin's propaganda loves this trope: "we can't know for sure, it's all propaganda, you have no choice but to pick a side. We're totally the good guys though, so be a good little soldier, spread our memes and ignore all other sources".
Contrary to what some people would like you to believe, you can know things without first-hand experience and you can be certain without having 100% proof.
Listening less to known liars also helps.