I find that very disturbing--for Russia, because demographically, they are in tatters. On average, since the 1990s most Russians are having one kid per family. Lose one in war and that's it.
No parent wants to outlive their kids, especially if there is only one.
No, if I was a Russia who really cared about Russia, I'd try to conserve my troops lives by using more fire and air power--including tactical nukes.
Human wave combat is extremely costly to a nation/people unless you have a huge surplus of men. They don't.
You’re right. Due to the massive losses of men in WW II, Russia has seen a cycle in births reflecting those losses.
They’re in a down cycle now.
“I find that very disturbing—for Russia, because demographically, they are in tatters”
Very good point. One of the worst things about this war is it aggravates the real long term threat to Russia.
The Russian Far East has half the population it did in the Soviet Era, and it is shrinking every year. Just across the border are 1.5 billion land hungry Chinese.