Russia and Ukraine

[Jehanne]

And -- who's going to retrain those reservists? The same guys who trained the first wave? Where are those guys right now?

I don't believe this represents any increase in Russian combat power. I believe this represents the Russians threatening a longer war in the hopes of wearing out Western support. But I think it will fail because without redirecting their doctrine and training they will simply be sending more troops into the shooting gallery -- even as the West is sending more arty, and training Ukrainians to fly F-16s, and now pondering the supply of older Abrams tanks.

In short, it's a move borne out of both fear and optics. It's also a big gamble in that the protests will widen and Putin's popularity will wane further. In essence, I think Putin is staking his regime on this war with this move. I think it's throwing good money after bad. He's scared and feeling cornered.

My guess is that Putin wants a long war.  The Russians are not dumb, as they have had their share of Nobel winners and chess grandmasters; fact is that the Russian army sucks, and Putin & Friends know this.  Fighting against Ukraine with its modern Western weapons is allowing Russia to develop and enhance their weaponry.  In addition, Putin wants Trump back in power, and having an extended war will make the World economy sag and Biden look bad.