Russian leaders admit war will be longer than expected in Ukraine

 Business Insider:

At the onset of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, US intelligence assessed that Russia could conquer Kyiv in just three days.

In fact, CIA Director Bill Burns told lawmakers weeks after the start of the invasion that Putin's strategy was centered on "seizing Kyiv within the first two days of the campaign."

Now 18 months into the war, Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu seemingly admitted Russia's offensives in Ukraine could last until at least 2025.

Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor in Ukraine's internal affairs ministry, posted a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, in which Shoigu said the Russian army is continuing to "build up the combat power" of its forces to face Ukraine's counteroffensive.

To achieve its military goals, Shoigu said Russia was supplying its troops with modern weapons and offering improved training, despite reports indicating Russian troops lack advanced training and are low on weapons.

Shoigu added that Russia could achieve its military goals with "consistent implementation of the measures in the action until 2025."

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin and allies like Shoigu have repeatedly stressed the need to keep Ukraine inside Russia's sphere of influence, and to defeat what they describe as Ukraine's "Nazi regime".

But, 18 months into the conflict, Russia only occupies parts of eastern and southern Ukraine, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, which it annexed in 2014.

Ukrainian troops are also pushing back hard against Russian forces, focusing their efforts on breaking through Russia's heavily fortified defensive lines across occupied territory in southern and eastern Ukraine.

Russian forces are coming under intense pressure from Ukrainian attacks in the southern Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia Oblast, with the Institute for the Study of War, among others, saying in recent commentary that Russian forces are stretched thin and that elite units are sustaining high casualties during counterattacks.
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It is not clear why Shoigu thinks Russia can win the war in another 18 months since large parts of its forces are substantially degraded and it is running low on both ammo and troops.   The statement could have been made to appease Putin who is still intent on pursuing a win of some sort with Ukraine and blocking its incorporation into NATO.  One of the results of the war already is that it has persuaded other countries on Russia's border to join NATO.

See, also:

Abrams tanks were 'built to kill' Russian armor, but Ukraine has its work cut out for it keeping them in the fight

Actually, the Ukraien forces have already killed a significant number of Russian tanks that have been vulnerable to anti-tank weapons provided by the NATO forces earlier in the war.  But the Abrams should be effective at helping Ukraine break through Russian defense which have certainly been more effective than their offense was. 

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The tank's powerful gas-turbine engine, which is sometimes compared to a jet engine, can get the 60-ton M1A1 up to 45 miles per hour. Its main gun fires accurately on the move. Its heavy armor gives it protection against anti-tank weapons and tank rounds. And there's an emphasis on crew survivability.

Ammunition, for instance, is stored behind the turret and separated from the crew by blast doors in protected ammo racks. Soviet-designed tanks, on the other hand, store exposed ammunition in the turret, leading to a vulnerability known as the "jack-in-the-box" effect: a direct hit can set off the ammunition inside, killing the crew and catapulting the massive gun turret.

The American-made tanks are also much more heavily armored than Russian tanks. During the First Gulf War, US Army assessments noted multiple examples of enemy fire bouncing off the tanks, which were able to take multiple hits while still dealing damage.
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It is laughable to think the Abram could be replaced by an electric model at this point as suggested by President Biden. 

And:

Russia's using its elite paratroopers in an unusual way to hold the line, leaving the force 'airborne in name only,' war analysts say

They are doing this because their infantry forces have been substantially degraded.

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Several days later, Britain's defense ministry wrote in an intelligence update that at least half of the 30,000 paratroopers who were sent to Ukraine had been injured or killed. As so-called "elite" Russian forces have taken losses, they have at times been backfilled with poorly-trained replacements, degrading the overall capability of the unit.

Since those figures were released, VDV units have been transferred to support Moscow's defensive efforts in the face of Ukraine's pressing counteroffensive.
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And:

 Russia likely lacks the reserves to properly defend itself if Ukraine breaks through a key defensive line, experts say

And:

 Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin planning new ‘assault units’ despite Moscow’s ‘mobilisation issues’

ISW reports: 

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The 70th and 71st Motorized Rifle Regiments’ involvement in counterattacks around Novoprokopivka suggests that Ukrainian counteroffensive operations may have significantly degraded the combat capabilities of elements of the 7th and 76th VDV Divisions and that these VDV elements can no longer conduct all counterattacks along the entire Ukrainian breach in the Orikhiv direction. The Russian command may have committed the 70th and 71st Motorized Rifle Regiments to defending and counterattacking in the Novoprokopivka area to allow VDV elements to prioritize defensive operations on the western and eastern flanks of the Ukrainian salient in the Orikhiv direction.[10] It is also possible that elements of the 70th and 71st Motorized Rifle Regiments have held positions near Novoprokopivka since withdrawing from positions further north and are now engaging Ukrainian forces because the Ukrainian advance has reached the outskirts of Novoprokopivka. Roughly a month of respite and possible reconstitution are unlikely to offset the significant degradation that elements of the 70th and 71st Motorized Rifle Regiments suffered while defending earlier in the counteroffensive. Elements of the 810th Naval Infantry Brigade (Black Sea Fleet) similarly defended to hold forwardmost defensive positions earlier in the counteroffensive, and Ukrainian counteroffensive operations recently reportedly rendered these elements combat ineffective.[11] The Russian command risks rendering the already degraded elements of the 70th and 71st Motorized Rifle Regiments combat ineffective if they heavily commit these elements to counterattacking the Ukrainian advance near Novoprokopivka.
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