

Putin’s leaked position at the start of this(read: take with truck of dubious salt) is that Russia had a potential armed forces pool of 25 million people.
As far as I understand that statement, until he burns through most of that, he likely won’t see himself as losing.





The goal is to divide, not actually support.
Functionally Russia is doing the same thing the Thalmor did on fucking Skyrim. (Where they actively worked to inflame tensions and ensure a stalemate in the civil war.)