This is a stupid escalation. If Russia so wished, they could level Kyiv overnight, they have more than enough weapons to do it.

Now, that would be the kind of shit liberals pretend Russia is already doing, just carpet bombing the entire area willy nilly (because they think what the fascist US does is what everyone does), but it's not been the strategy, given that Russia doesn't want to make a lifelong enemy of the Ukrainian people and it would make the peace talks that Russia hasn't taken off the table from day one all but impossible.

The only reason this is happening is because Zelensky knows what awaits him specifically as soon as the war is done, he'll get hung out to dry for all the war crimes the US commissioned in the first place.