Putin calls up more cannon fodder

It's easy for Vladimir Putin. When he runs out of soldiers to fight his war in Ukraine he just calls up more conscripts. The latest call-to-war has gone out to 150,000 Russian men. Will there be a revolt among Russia's 20-year-olds and 30-year-olds or do they believe their leader who claims that Russia itself is under attack. He tells the Russian people that the hated Nato alliance under the leadership of the even-more-hated United States is determined to destroy Russia and is using Ukraine as a proxy war to achieve ths objective. He has been promoting this line for so long that a lot of Russian people probably go along with it. So, conscripting another 150,000 young men is unlikely to lead to nationwide protests, let alone calls for Putin to resign. If there were such protests, Putin would order his security organisations to stamp on demonstrators, so protests are pretty pointless. Right now, Putin, reelected and full of confidence, can do what he likes, and fresh troops for Ukraine, even if with only basic training, will serve as useful cannon fodder. It always was an unevenly balanced war between Ukraine and Russia. But with more Russian troops arriving, Ukraine is going to have to be even more cunning and technologically astute to stop the Russians from inching closer to Kyiv. I'm sure Zelensky is ringing the US every day and saying: "Where the hell are the F-16s you promised me. I need them now." So far, the US Abrams, British Challenger and German Leopard tanks haven't made the sort of difference on the battlefield that was anticipated. Will the F-16s provide the great breakthrough? Somehow, I doubt it. What would make a difference would be much longer-range missiles and rockets, all aimed at targets inside Russia and Crimea as well as at the Black Sea fleet. No sign of that happening at the moment.