Russia’s war in Ukraine is already in its 17th month. In that time, President Vladimir Putin has clearly demonstrated that he is not bothered by losses — whether they be financial, material, or human. His war will go on as long as he needs. And, judging by how the authorities have woven the so-called “special military operation” into Russian life, that will be a long time.
This is one of the things I pointed out in the post on the permanent war. Russia since the beginning dumped into the war old and outdated equipment. They sent to the front those who they considered the less valuable soldiers at the same time initially they avoided to send recruits from the draft to minimise the political backlash within Russia.
Since the beginning they handled it as a long term attrition war.
That’s not true. They lost most of their so-called “elite” units at the beginning of the war, thinking it would be a very short war and that these units would just walk into Kyiv. Units which they are incapable of replacing in any meaningful way.
The mobilisation only came months after their initiation of the war, when they realised it would not be a short term affair.