I’m not sure Russia actually rope a doped Ukraine, they probably thought no one would that dumb to plan an attack that pulls forces away from the main battle for nothing more than a side show.
Once Ukraine went down that road, the Russians probably said, let them come on in, we will destroy them while stepping up our advance in Ukraine.
The result is, Ukraine has lost some of their best remaining troops while getting hammered inside of Ukraine.
A tragicomedy of errors by the West and Ukraine that started long before the latest waste of men and machines.