This summer I hear the drumming, Four dead in Ohio … Oryol

This summer I hear the drumming, Four dead in Ohio … Oryol 

Here’s an interesting article on the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) site, “Exclusive: Russian Defector Leaks Files Revealing Shocking Scale of War Casualties.” It seems that RFE/RL has obtained files showing just how many Russians (and others) have been killed or wounded in the war. It is a staggering 700,000 people.

That is a tremendous loss of population for a country which already has demographic problems. I keep wondering how long Russia will keep it up before finally facing the grim reality that taking over Ukraine is simply not worth the cost in blood and treasure. 

Alas, knowing how easily pride gets in the way of reason, I fear the Russians never will make the kind of calculation that, say, they did in Afghanistan, and which the United States did in Vietnam. 

Which means…Russia as a nation, and a society, may well be wounded for generations yet to come.