This does not bode well for Putin or Russia’s invasion, Russia can only strategically succeed in this summer offensive if it puts so much distributed pressure on the frontlines that Ukraine does not have the spare command capacity to leverage its superior, actually still mechanized, troops to counter attack and create local efficiencies for Ukraine that compound to a shift in momentum in the war in favor of Ukraine.
In otherwords Russia’s infantry have placed itself in an extremely vulnerable position where they must CONSTANTLY keep the pressure up or else Ukraine will use that window to flank the infantry with mechanized forces and categorically remove them from the war via encirclement.
The fact that this started happening in july and not late summer indicates to me how badly Russia is making a massive strategic blunder with this ill-equipped offensive, because when the momentum decisively shifts Russia won’t be able to respond and move their troops to concentrate defensively because they don’t have any transportation left. A thinly spread army with no transportation is toast up against a nimble, mechanized and coordinated counter attacking force.
When putin surrenders he dies. I don’t think he will willingly give up. Somebody else will throw him out a window.
Maybe, I think what is salient for Ukraine is to build up the capacity to credibly threaten a decisive armored counterattack that severely encricles large sections of the Russian army and liberates chunks of territory.
It is the credible threat of that eventuality that will make peace more preferable.