Meanwhile in Ukraine

[Martin Hash]

With today’s battle technology, massing troops or sending in waves of armor would be annihilated.

[Haumana]

We've been conditioned to rapid advance shock and awe warfare against 3rd rate opponents. So Russia not taking Ukraine in a month looks odd to us. But there are several factors at play here you have to understand.

1. Wars done happen that way in Ukraine. Due to terrain and weather you have up to 4 months a year to make advances.

2. This is a war of NATO v. Russia.

3. Russia doesn't fight rapid advance wars.

Also, There is a lot of Russian/Soviet era history in these Ukrainian cities.There is a bit of kid gloves going on, so American style shock and awe clearly is not part of the plan. Does anyone really think that Kiev couldn't have been looking like Gaza right now if that were in Russia's long term interests?

[The Conservative]

Does winning mean
- continuing to exist as a major power?
-conquering Europe/asia/something else?

or are we in some imaginary global struggle because the Cold War never ended in some sick neocon heads

Russia won't conquer anything. In their case, being able to come back to the people saying they were able to keep the "west" from taking over another country. Whatever mindset you want to call it.

Realistically, Putin is still playing KGB mental games while the others are playing Patty Cake. He doesn't have to win actually to win. He just has to sell his loss a win to make it look like he put mud of the Western Pigs.

[TheOneX]

We've been conditioned to rapid advance shock and awe warfare against 3rd rate opponents. So Russia not taking Ukraine in a month looks odd to us. But there are several factors at play here you have to understand.

1. Wars done happen that way in Ukraine. Due to terrain and weather you have up to 4 months a year to make advances.

2. This is a war of NATO v. Russia.

3. Russia doesn't fight rapid advance wars.

Also, There is a lot of Russian/Soviet era history in these Ukrainian cities.There is a bit of kid gloves going on, so American style shock and awe clearly is not part of the plan. Does anyone really think that Kiev couldn't have been looking like Gaza right now if that were in Russia's long term interests?

Russia tried the shock and awe strategy at the beginning of the war, and completely failed.

[SuburbanFarmer]

I think they believed that the threat of being invaded by a superpower would achieve their goals. They underestimated the scale of corruption in the west. Our elites just used it as an excuse to plunder the treasury. What’s a few million Ukrainians.