“It would take the Russians years and 2 million more casualties to take they area Putin demands Ukraine to give up.”
That assumes a purely linear progression.
War doesn’t work that way.
On D-Day +7 allied forces were still within a mile of the beach. In France.
A little over a year later they were in Berlin...hardly a linear progression.
Losing armies collapse. Every time.
Losing armies collapse. Every time.
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It is called the “ waterfall effect”…..slowly, little by little, then all of a sudden….Ukraine is very close to the waterfall.
Assuming the Russians could actually take land at the rate they have since April of 2022. They’ve had over a million casualties taking 1% of Ukraine’s territory since that time. They may have a seriously difficult time holding on to what they have right now. Their logistics are being cut off. Every time they try to send trains with tanker cars full of refined petroleum products to Ukraine, Ukrainian drones attack them. They blow up real good and burn.