I find your post interesting. I remember seeing a graph at the beginning of this mess that showed Russia had way more of everything (jets, tanks, soldiers, etc) than Ukraine did. On paper it looked like Russia could just swoop in and take over rather quickly. But they haven’t. Why? Maybe their military capabilities aren’t as good as they want us to think. Maybe they are holding back so as to not have the casualties expected so they don’t look as bad on the world stage. I don’t know.
Exactly my sentiments. I discount about 50% of what I get from the media as hype/propaganda. BUT, there is no battleplan that says, let's gear up with a massive force and then tiptoe in and use a B.C. style castle siege strategy. I have been contemplating this and have begun to wonder if Russia's build up was a calculation that would intimidate Ukraine enough to "not fight"? Based on some things I've seen that seem plausible, the Russian soldiers and officers might not be committed to this objective. I don't know.