> Finland eventually lost that war and lost about a third of its territory. <
True that. Finland lost the Winter War. But they sure gave the Red Army a bloody nose. And of course they picked the wrong side in WW II, and so lost even more territory.
But I find it interesting that Stalin then left Finland alone. The Red Army occupied Axis partners Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. And he set up puppet governments there. But he left Finland alone.
Is Putin’s real objective Donetsk and Luhansk and the rest is psychological shock and awe? Maybe he will keep those two and let the rest of Ukraine go.