They have been using it but you don't seem to keep up First Kyiv. Then Kharkiv. Then Kherson. Next month or two, who knows. Whatever more Ukraine takes back you will refuse to recognize. Whatever Putin's sick regime does, you will sugarcoat as something Ukraine must accept through "negotiation" (give Putin whatever he wants).

As for the soldiers killed during New Year's eve. Whatever Russia says, a few months later it comes out 5x to 10x the amount. There were probably 68 soldiers, by definition. There were just 400 other sad hastily mobilized Russians Putin sent to the front without documentation.