I’m sorry but your claim that the Russians thought they could invade all of Ukraine in a matter of days is just ridiculous western propaganda. Can you point us to any comment anywhere by any Russian government official who made that claim?

There are many western commentators who seem to think they can read Putin’s mind and continually claim Putin this and Putin that. I can’t read Putin’s mind, but I can listen to what he and other government officials say. I can also see what the Russian military actually does. Russia sent somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 men into Ukraine. Ukraine was one of the largest countries in Europe with a population of around 40 million and a military of over 500,000. It should be obvious to anyone who stops to think about it rationally that 200,000 Russians could not possibly invade all of Ukraine.

What were the Russians trying to do? They were trying to force Ukraine into negotiations to ensure Ukraine remained neutral (I.e. agree to never join NATO) and protect Russian speakers in Ukraine. It actually worked and after negotiations in Istanbul there was the outline of a reasonable agreement.

However, under pressure from the west the Ukranian government did a U turn and decided to fight it out. The Russians then changed tack, pulled back to lines they could defend, dug in for a long war of attrition, and began slowly and systematically building up their armed forces.

Last year General Syrski of Ukraine claimed Russia had more than 600,000 men in Ukraine and was constantly increasing that number. Eventually Russia will have built up their forces to the point that they can invade all of Ukraine. I don’t know what Russia will do then, but I am sure it will be worse for Ukraine and Ukrainians than if they had just gone for the Istanbul agreement.