Also, re: "meat grinder", it's a relatively one sided meat grinder. Ukraine has been willing to slowly trade land for men; Russia has been willing to trade men for land. In parts of the front the kill ratios get as high as 30 to 1.

I personally have met drone pilots who have killed hundreds of Russians. It's not even that remarkable. Russia loves relentless small attacks that gradually make progress at the cost of huge numbers of men.