BIG difference between a stationary “soft” target and a well trained, disciplined armored force with support vehicles (BMP and BRDM), infantry, and air support advancing on you. Pucker factor reaches very high on the Sphincter Scale.
Indeed.
After reading up on the 2014 war, the Russian strategy is to use picked mixed battalion tactical Groups (BTG’s) chiefly to occupy the territory ‘liberated’ by rebel groups. So there are a lot of tanks sitting around strong-pointing rather than maneuvering with armored infantry (which the BTG’s are very short of anyway).
But the next war is usually different than the last. If the Russians suddenly field Brigade-size combat groups you could see the entire Donbass region taken in a matter of Days/Weeks.