Russia and Ukraine flashpoint

[SanAndreasX]

KiigelHeart said:

SanAndreasX said:

They clearly weren't prepared for anything but the bare minimum of resistance from Ukraine, and when they found out the Ukrainians were actually willing to fight back, things started going downhill for Russia and Putin. We've been trying to be cautious in our optimism that maybe Putin is holding back, but it's becoming increasingly evident that he's in over his head. He was definitely in Beijing for more than just watching the Russian Olympic Committee's hockey team. He's also recruiting for "volunteers" (mercenaries) in the Middle East and Africa.

Not disputing anything you said, Putin sure seems to be in over his head. But I still find it unlikely the world's 2nd strongest military power would be asking for military aid after two weeks of warfare. Recruiting mercenaries I can understand, morale of his own troops could be very low and using military reserves might be problematic as it's still "a special operation" or some bullshit. If he arms 500,000 people for example they might march towards Moscow instead of Kyiv.

Russia seems to be having some serious logistics problems here. Logistics are what hamstrings invasions and limit projections of power more than anything else. Troops must be fed and watered, equipment needs fuel and maintenance, and God knows how well Russia has been doing with maintenance of equipment that may be God only knows how old. All of that costs money and requires coordination. That seems to be one of Putin's biggest problems here. Russia wasn't exactly a wealthy nation to begin with, despite Putin himself possibly being the single wealthiest person on Earth. He doesn't want to spend money out of his pocket if he can avoid it.

Much as I'm rooting for Ukraine to win against tough odds, I didn't think Russia would do as poorly as it has. Perhaps the Russian army is nothing but a paper bear. I am not saying that to minimize the death and destruction the Russian army is inflicting on the people of Ukraine.