Also, it doesn't matter if they get shot down, their purpose is to overwhelm AA defences and they're doing a good job at that.
Then Ukraine is smarter than Russia, because they went and bought Aliexpress drones.
Holy shit, imagine paying Iran the big bucks for loitering munitions while Ukraine probably just straps radar reflectors to the cheapest piece of garbage that can fly.
Also, Ukraine will get Western AA to replenish theirs. Does this plan sound like Russia is acomplishing something?
Now, they're experienced soldiers that are plugging gaps on the front and are letting more experienced soldiers to participate in offensive actions
The experienced soldiers are done. They've been fighting for 7 months with no rotation and taken massive casualties.
The initial invasion force took massive losses.
They plugged the gaps with instructors and troops from other bases. They took losses.
They gangpressed the Donbabweans and Lugandans. Those took pretty bad losses.
They called the reservists to form the BARS units, they called SOBR, etc. More losses.
There's a reason why 300k were mobilized. They ran out of fucking manpower. They're taking sailors and troops from the strategic rocket forces. They wouldn't be doing this if the "experienced soldiers" were just waiting on reinforcements.
And by the way, the experienced troops are trapped in fucking Kherson. They can't run away and can't be reinforced. Again, does this sound like a plan? They're gonna deliver the troops by helicopter? By parachute? Can't wait for the VEH DEH VEH meme to come back.
The Russians have proven many times that they can deal a bloody nose to Ukrainian offensives when they have sufficient manpower and supplies in the area.
Part of warfighting is creating advantages like "manpower" and "supplies".
Russia can beat Ukrainians when they have the advantage? Groundbreaking. You better write that down. Maybe publish a book. I'm thinking "the art of war" as a title but we can workshop that better down the line.
You're only making presumtions, Russia still has tons of equipment and those that are being sent are reservists, not armed civilians.
All men in Russia can be called reservists because there's a year of mandatory service. Unless a country has a system to mobilize such people (Russia doesn't, as evidenced by the mess they've done) and regularly give them refreshers, they are civilians. Conscription is known in Russia as a wasted year as they don't actually do useful training.
There was a point back in the Cold War, hell most of history, that we wisely recognized that intruding directly into another major power's sphere of influence was a very bad move.
The Cold War was a bunch of intrusions into spheres of influence.
I don't think they recognized that.