[Bayard]

Putin doesn’t have enough military to do traditional Russian strategy.

[buwaya]

“Putin doesn’t have enough military to do traditional Russian strategy.”

If nothing else is true, this is. There are nowhere near enough Russian forces deployed to overwhelm their enemies, not even enough firepower. They may win due to attrition, in time.

[AZJeep]

Putin doesn’t have enough military to do traditional Russian strategy.

______

Exactly. Russia has shrunk. They reduced the draft to one year. Russia military is a lot smaller than the Soviet one used to be.
Yet, they have not changed their strategies.
They fighting this way for the last hundred of years.

[xkaydet65]

You get it. Many do not. They are thinking of the Red Army and 100 divisions at the Fulda Gap. Putin’s army is a small fraction of that. If the 199K number is correct then there are maybe 70K left in the entire ground force.

[pierrem15]

This. You see maps usually shaded red of "Russian controlled areas." Given the size of the country, all Russia controls are some roads and a few towns. 200K troops is nothing for a country the size of Ukraine if there's determined resistance.

I also see some slow movement on Russia's demands. First off, no mention of Ukraine disappearing. They now want a neutrality guarantee and recognition of the annexation of Crimea and the "republics" in Donetsk. Notably absent is any claim about EU membership, although Putin may see that as not-neutral.

Someone should propose a treaty like the Austrian neutrality treaty, with it's borders guaranteed and the proviso that Ukraine can be very well armed but with no foreign troops except trainers. I would propose the US make this proposal as a guarantor along with withdrawal of Russian forces from Belarus, and restoration of INF and Conventional Forces in Europe treaties.