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Putin calculated the cost and came to the conclusion the gain was worth the cost. Did he miscalculate? Time will tell.

In the meantime the U.S., NATO and our allies in the Middle East and Asian should be making the cost so high neither Russia or China would be willing to pay the price of doing something similar in Taiwan, South Korea, Israel or other Eastern European countries. This doesn't mean creating forces in these countries that can't be defeated. It means making the cost of achieving that defeat so high neither would want to pay the price.

 

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It seems Putin very much underestimated the resolve of the Ukraine people. I also wonder if the average Russian soldier is wondering "what is so important about Ukraine that I should be out here getting shot at?"

I know little about the back story and what really lead up to this conflict but there is a basic fundamental truth that leaders need to consider when sending troops into battle. What real (hopefully) or fabricated (woefully) motivation can I create to convince young people to put their life on the line to achieve a particular goal? And can that motivation be sustained over the long haul?

Based on what little I know it doesn't appear Putin has a justification that can sustain the resolve of Russian troops or the Russian people to continue this fighting over the long haul. It may all end up being a sad and crazy miscalculation that causes a lot of death, pain and destruction.

 

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What total was of life. Terrible.

 

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The whole thing is crazy.