Most countries expected Putin to overrun Ukraine by now - not being close to do it is big news. The biggest news though is just how incredibly low Russian moral

Most countries expected Putin to overrun Ukraine by now - not being close to do it is big news. The biggest news though is just how incredibly low Russian morale is. The Russian army should still be able to win, but I'm not sure it really can. Can Putin afford being remotely truthful about casualties? Or firebombing cities he was supposedly 'liberating'? If the army cannot be inspired to sacrifice and cannot use full (illegal) force, how does Putin expect to win? Even dictatorships need some motivated people. Putin's propaganda apparently can make Russian apathetic, but not get them to work effectively for his cause. IMHO, the smart play for Putin is to forget about Kyiv, take what he can, then beg for negotiations. That he may still be able to do.