> They can't. Russia simply cannot control the tens of millions survivors of it's brutal invasion even if they manage to defeat the Ukrainian army in the field,

> They can't. Russia simply cannot control the tens of millions survivors of it's brutal invasion even if they manage to defeat the Ukrainian army in the field, which they can't. I wouldn't be so sure about that. If the Russians are brutal enough (and continue to be brutal) and the survivors have some place to flee too, they might be able to hold on to quite a bit if they can defeat the organized military by "evaporating" away those that would challenge them.