Exactly, it was never a stalemate, but as long as the lines weren't visibly moving that was a convenient narrative. I recall there was a BBC/Mediazona project that actually had some methodology behind it to track Russian casualties. They'd trove obituaries, social media posts, funerals, etc. All they managed to come up with was around 40k. Obviously, that's still a lot of people, but a far cry from 500k that the US keeps peddling.
I very much agree that the experience gained by the Russian military is invaluable though. Not only do the troops have real combat experience now, but also the logistics have been ironed out. Russia is now able to produce vast amounts of weapons and ammunition at a rate the west simply isn't able to keep up with.
Exactly, it was never a stalemate, but as long as the lines weren't visibly moving that was a convenient narrative. I recall there was a BBC/Mediazona project that actually had some methodology behind it to track Russian casualties. They'd trove obituaries, social media posts, funerals, etc. All they managed to come up with was around 40k. Obviously, that's still a lot of people, but a far cry from 500k that the US keeps peddling.
I very much agree that the experience gained by the Russian military is invaluable though. Not only do the troops have real combat experience now, but also the logistics have been ironed out. Russia is now able to produce vast amounts of weapons and ammunition at a rate the west simply isn't able to keep up with.