(1) The Ukrainian leadership is so intent on winning at all costs (understandably) that they'd probably knowingly start WW III if they thought doing so would he

(1) The Ukrainian leadership is so intent on winning at all costs (understandably) that they'd probably knowingly start WW III if they thought doing so would help them win. A few months ago they attacked a target in Russia (a radar installation or such) whose only purpose was to warn Moscow of an attack on Russia by ICBMs and long-range Western bombers that Ukraine does not have. Similarly, invading Russian territory also has a little of this quality of tempting Moscow into attacking the West more directly than it has been. (2) Kiev hopes that by reaching out and touching the lives of many ordinary Russians (i.e., Russians living in Kursk oblast and their relatives, many of whom now have to host their relatives as refugees) they can turn Russian public opinion against continuing the war by making the ordinary Russian believe that the costs of the war on people like him is too high. Analogously, the North Vietnamese leadership watched American public opinion very carefully during its war.