They supposedly debunked the "meat grinder" warfare - yet that is exactly what Russia has pursued: 1 - Their WW2 warfare form is to literally level towns and cities - whether or not they are holding Ukrainian military or not - they just flatten cities - civilians and all.
2 - Avidvka saw between 500 -1000 Russians lost on the battlefield nearly every day of the several-month-long effort by Russia to take it. This isnt' "Western opinion" - it's well (and easily-documented) reality.
Russia doesn't care that it is churning soldiers (many of which are not particularly well-trained) like chum. You throw enough bodies at something, you eventually wear down those trying to defend a city. Between the growing scarcity of ammunition (and to a lesser degree, weapons systems) and Russia's seemingly endless meat supply (between their own mass mobilizations as well as multiple mercenary units...
All of this - yet I do agree - the idea of a Ukrainian military victory seems like a rather fleeting idea. Russia has 75+ years of military hardware stored for such a time as this (they simply don't every get rid of weapons or ammunition - unlike the West that insists on constant upgrade/replacement and disposing of the "old"). you show enough 1950-1960's era tanks and artillery into the mix - it still gets the job done when in overwhelming numbers.
