As soon as the war started, I abandoned Any Forums and stopped posting because observing the events and trying to understand them was far more interesting. Here's my return and assessment:
Back in 2016-2017 I remember reading articles from western military experts saying the following:
>"If Russia would choose to annex the Eastern half of Ukraine, it would require around 400,000 soldiers to hold onto that territory, due to Ukraine's size."
We know by all US and west-linked assessments today, that Russia committed only around 200,000 troops (60% of Russia's available BTGs) to this operation, and as it seems by how the war was unfolding, separated this number into 3 smaller waves.
When Putin declared war, he said that the goal of the operation is the "demilitarization" of Ukraine and promised that Russia doesn't seek to expand its territory or occupy anyone.
When first videos appeared of Russia's military equipment passing through Ukrainian cities, it seemed that Russia made zero effort to besiege cities. They were "rushing B" through the cities' main roads towards their designated firing positions.
By different estimates, since the beginning of the war, Ukraine lost anywhere between 800 to 1,100 military infrastructure installations. The number of personnel casualties is unknown.
Therefore, my conclusion, is that the point of this war is to inflict maximum pain on the Ukrainian army.
The only city that Russia seems to attempt to "besiege" seems to be Kiev. Because that's where the Ukrainian leadership is. Another city where significant efforts of "occupation" are visible is Mariupol. That's about it.
