> seemingly old gear 1.Russia doesn't have much new gear and 2. the old at least works reliably in the field. Russia for example backed down from gas turbines

> seemingly old gear 1.Russia doesn't have much new gear and 2. the old at least works reliably in the field. Russia for example backed down from gas turbines in tanks (like T-80) because of poor reliability and high maintenance (and maintenance is always a huge issue in Russia) > without proper support that is the best Russia can. Support and logistics has always been an issue. > and young conscripts in first the young people grew during Putin's Russia and they are much easy to make them kill Ukrainians. > you have to send in the best soldiers with the best gear first to seal the deal that were the ones who were dropped on the airfields near Kiev in order to capture them and thus facilitate coming of the next wave of the best - the Pskov's 76th paratroopers - who were to flew in. The capture of any of the airfields failed. The ground attack, even by the best of the best, was too slow to make to Kiev for the "Czechoslovakia 68" plan to work.