“ The Russians can mow down every person standing. And they can do it without losing any of their own”
Actually, they are taking heavy casualties - the highest rate of Russian losses in any conflict since WWII. Already, in just one month, they have had more Russians killed than in all of the years of their two wars in Chechnya.
At this rate, during the second month, they will surpass the total killed in a decade in Afghanistan - which many argue was a significant factor in the collapse of the Soviet Union.
There is an interesting thing about “any conflict since WW2”.
Russia hasn’t fought a real military since WW2.
Hungary 1956 - they fought against civilians
Czechoslovakia 1968 - the same
Afghanistan in 1979 - fighting against an insurgency
Chechnya 1st and 2nd wars - fighting against an insurgency in a tiny country
Georgia 2008 - that might be the only one against an actual military, but Georgia is a country of 3.8 million.
I understand that the Russians are taking losses. I am pointing out that they do not have to. They have the weapons to flatten the Ukraine. It would not be hard. But they are trying to infiltrate it. They took the Crimea without much resistance. And I assume they thought they would have less resistance in other parts of the Ukraine. They are trying to win without destroying the place. They are trying to win and allow the pro-Russian population to survive. Their biggest goal is to kick the CIA out of Ukraine. As much as anything, its a war against our government. Its Russia vs. the CIA. The Ukrainians are just in the way.