"He Has No Idea What's Coming" 🌻

NATO and EU Countries Pour Weapons Into Ukraine, Risking Conflict With Russia. My take.https://t.co/IlWJZ6PmjE

— Steven Erlanger (@StevenErlanger) March 2, 2022

The fundamental flaw in Putin’s strategy (or lack of it) is that he can level Ukraine, occupy it, possibly insert a puppet govt, but not subdue it. Ukraine has become a situation that cannot be solved or even managed at a bearable cost for Russia. That will be Putin’s legacy.

— Richard N. Haass (@RichardHaass) March 2, 2022

The other flaw is that NATO would fall apart and be useless. The third flaw was that his military wasn't a paper tiger.

Captured Russian soldiers cry as they tell relatives 'I was sent to my death' https://t.co/U9zmXXuSpE pic.twitter.com/ss5Bt1oTIS

— The Mirror (@DailyMirror) March 2, 2022

Much like the emotions of the guards at checkpoints, the battle lines appear to be stabilizing -- at least for now.

Russian troops are stalled in their attempts to advance into central Kyiv, as they were yesterday morning

— Tim Mak (@timkmak) March 2, 2022

PENTAGON: ‘The Convoy Is Stalled’: Logistics Failures Slow Russian Advance https://t.co/AXVhUtu0na via @DefenseOne @TaraCopp

— Kevin Baron (@DefenseBaron) March 2, 2022

The US believes a 40-mile-long Russian military convoy outside of Kyiv is “stalled,” a senior US defense official told reporters Wednesday.
"They are not moving at any rate that would lead one to believe they’ve solved their problems. So we would characterize it as stalled."

— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) March 2, 2022

The idea that Russia is going to rally and really attack Ukraine this time, is getting to be harder and harder to take seriously.

It took seven years for the US death toll in Afghanistan to get even that high, and we can be pretty sure that if the Russians are admitting to 500 deaths in less than a week, the real figure must be utterly staggering, as the Ukrainians have asserted. https://t.co/n7uKo2hFIn

— George Conway🌻 (@gtconway3d) March 2, 2022

500 is terrible; but it's probably worse than that. What proceeds now is the conviction that this entire exercise is pointless and uselessly destructive, and nothing more.

Its now Confirmed that a Romanian MIG-21 on an Air Police Mission over the Black Sea has disappeared off Radar Screens in Romania, its also being reported that a IAR 330 Puma Rescue Helicopter on a Search and Rescue Mission for the Aircraft was lost killing all 5 Crewmen on Board pic.twitter.com/cxvVQchTxe

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 2, 2022

Russian losses keep mounting, however slowly; and the people of Ukraine keep declining to be cowed.

Along the road: scenes of everyday life from before the war — men feeding chickens, a frozen go kart race track, empty snow-covered fields… punctuated by guys with guns. pic.twitter.com/9aDJO44Kty

— Tim Mak (@timkmak) March 2, 2022

You can't beat this. Ukrainian farmers are towing away an abandoned Russian Tor-M2 SAM system that costs some 25 million USD. pic.twitter.com/tC4oEjznHh

— Oryx (@oryxspioenkop) March 2, 2022

Enjoy the Hague, Putin. https://t.co/5bCn4jZaQD

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) March 2, 2022

And then there's world opinion; and order.

Putin has unified Europe like little else.

Strong statement. https://t.co/v1NDNkSyd8

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) March 2, 2022

The way the world is rallying around Ukraine is a profound reminder to never abandon hope and optimism. Even in our darkest times, the hunger for liberty pulses through our veins and humanity finds a way to the light. #StandWithUkriane

— Mindy Finn (@mindyfinn) March 2, 2022

At this point, the costs of the invasion are locked in for Russia. Even if Moscow finds some sort of compromise, government sanctions will remain as will the blacklisting from private corporations. This likely affects Russia's cost-benefit analysis of continuing the war. https://t.co/EYrt12k7sC

— Rob Lee (@RALee85) March 2, 2022

Does Russia have enough jail cells?

Anti-war protest tonight in St Petersburg, Russia...
Photo Credit: Reuters pic.twitter.com/L6usYHrXhr

— KyivPost (@KyivPost) March 2, 2022

Which is partly due to Putin's actions, but also due to Putin's attempts to justify this war:

I have real concerns about a brewing humanitarian/food crisis, even in places that have been relatively safe in W Ukraine.

Imported food, such as baby food, will be hard

Will expand on this in a story that will be in All Things Considered this eveninghttps://t.co/5OyEEaSkVl

— Tim Mak (@timkmak) March 2, 2022

And, quite simply, Ukraine:

The Russians are already having a very difficult time moving armor and logistics and are creating tons of traffic jams. Civilians coming out on the roads and blocking the transports are making their already challenging problems even worse https://t.co/xtbrd0hUkK

— Dmitri Alperovitch (@DAlperovitch) March 2, 2022

The whole letter, even via google translate, is a stark message. https://t.co/uugXD4nenL

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) March 2, 2022