You all making one bad bet: you are preasuming that Putin isn't a fucking retarded and delusional idiot. Normal leader should make mobilization, point some possible aims and send proper forces on frontline. Also give the command to a competent officers.
Normal leader. But that is Putin, so:
- they send to small forces in strategic terms (first wave was smaller in numbers than Ukrainian forces);
- regardless they wrongly draw attack routes so they - still having to small forces in strategic terms - chocked up every single route on northern front towards Kiev, so some of they units just stopped due to lack of supplies;
- also ruzzkie just fucked up espionage and counterespionage so they entering forces was beliving that they will be no opposing forces and the population will be at least not hostile towards them.
All possible mistakes than can be done in warfare was conducted by ruzzkieland. All fuckin one. It even looks like they have a list "what can cripple a offensive" and do every single thing from it.
Competent forces was only send from Crimea to north direction, but after that they fucked up sending supplies (what idiot makes sole supply line on long single bridge with small capacity?).
And nearly always when situation was going bad for ruzzkie they was making it worse and worse. VDV is going to be massacred on Hostomel airfield? HURRY UP FROM CHERNOBYL. Attack from Chernobyl is going wrong? HEY FORCES FROM CHERNIGOV, JUST INGORE THAT MECHANIZED UKRAINIAN BRIGADE AND GO AHEAD TO KIEV, HURRY. They are to few secured roads to resupply forces from Chernigov? HEY SEND MORE TRUCKS, TRUCKS, TRUUUUUCKS, FUCK THE CAPACITY, JUST SEND THEM! And so one and so far.
They even fucked up political situation around Crimea. If they didn't annex Crimea and start idiotic war in Donbas in 2014...
Well, Donbas war was great training opportunity for AFU and a very clear signal that ruzzia is hostile towards Ukraine, also it allowed Ukrainians to make political cleansing in they politic elites (not mention that Donbas was the most reactionary and eurosceptic part of Ukraine before 2014 - but when Donbas cannot vote the euroenthusiastic forces have easier option tomake a anti-ruzzkie shift).
Annexation of Crimea just made whole affair impossible to give any gains to ruzzkieland. If they didn't annex them but instead install a loyal rulers in separatis "Republic of Crimea" that was a small chance that even EU give pressure on Kiev to recognize new state (like pressure on Serbia in Kosovo case). Or to have only small, short term sanctions (no one every give a fuck about Transnistria, Osetia or Abkhazia). But no, monke wanna banana so they just ignored two possible low-cost options in 2014 (or to just support proruzzkie political forces in Ukraine, or to support Crimean separatist state), go for high cost way to get nothing in long perspective and finally fucked all of they bussiness in EU.
Now they can celebrate taking one salt mine in Soledar for price of just thousands killed ruzzkies. Side effect is remilitarization of all of east NATO states, anti-ruzzkie sentiments from Ukraine to Germany and confiscate of more than 300B USD worth assets in Europe (ant this is only worth of assets taken from legal persons - many countries also stripped off some ruzzkie bussinessmans from their private assets, from stocks to yachts).
