It's extremely fast and aggressive because it is desperate. Putin doesn't have any time and he knows it, the West was slow to formulate a response but it is getting there, sentiment is turning and before long there will be a different wind blowing.
Internal support for this war is already wavering - see the video of the Russian security council meeting -, it won't take much in terms of deviation from Putins plans as communicated to his lieutenants before his own position becomes untenable. And that can't come soon enough because at the moment that is the only way forward that is still left to us without major bloodshed.
I really hope it is true, that internal support is wavering.
I have a tendency to believe our western media's over expression of news stories that make it look like the Russian forces are having a hard time.
I can't place my finger on it (maybe I just am afraid of the worst) that we need to be told things are worse for the "enemy" than they really are to avoid sentiment that causes WW3. The spark has been lit in my eyes.
> I have a tendency to believe our western media's over expression of news stories that make it look like the Russian forces are having a hard time.
Well, they are certainly not having an easy time, casualties are mounting, some troop transports have crashed, the most reliable estimates about casualties on the Russian side that I've seen are now approaching 1,000, which if true would be extremely high already. But wars aren't typically won or lost in a day and Russia has far more resources than the Ukraine has. But indirectly, whether Putin wants it or not he's already fighting the West.
> I can't place my finger on it (maybe I just am afraid of the worst) that we need to be told things are worse for the "enemy" than they really are to avoid sentiment that causes WW3.
What you and I are told doesn't really matter. What matters is:
(1) what happens in Putins inner circle
(2) what happens in the security council
(3) what happens in the Whitehouse
That's where the decisions are made. Ukraine is going to do what they can but they are only able to hold out for so long.
> The spark has been lit in my eyes.
You probably meant the fuse, but yes, it has been lit.
Internal support for this war is already wavering - see the video of the Russian security council meeting -, it won't take much in terms of deviation from Putins plans as communicated to his lieutenants before his own position becomes untenable. And that can't come soon enough because at the moment that is the only way forward that is still left to us without major bloodshed.