Not long after Biden arrived in Poland, Russian military signaled that it might be reducing war aims

[kpete]

This pinned report from the NYT front page section that gives live updates on the war in Ukraine seems significant:

Not long after Mr. Biden arrived in Poland, the Russian military signaled that it might be reducing its war aims. After a month of a grinding war in which Russian forces have been met by unexpectedly fierce Ukrainian resistance and have failed to capture major cities across the country, Maj. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi said Russia would now be focused on defeating Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donbas region, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting a war since 2014.

He said the “first stage of the operation” had been “mainly accomplished,” with Ukraine’s combat power “significantly reduced.” But it is far from clear that the larger conflict might wind down: He added that Russia “does not exclude” that its forces will storm major Ukrainian cities such as Kyiv, the capital, though he said that taking them over was not a primary objective.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/03/25/world/ukraine-russia-war
https://www.balloon-juice.com/2022/03/25/friday-afternoon-open-thread-53/#comments

[Beakybird]

2. What?

[brush]

3. If true, I think Putin just blinked. It's an off-ramp.

He'd best take it.

Go, Joe.

[regnaD kciN]

4. Translation...

"It's not a retreat, it's a bold advance in the opposite direction!"

[Bev54]

6. Or he is planning on using chemical weapons and wants his troops out of the way?

[COL Mustard]

7. Putin doesn't care about the costs to his troops

Or any civilians in the area. If he wants to go bugs and gas, he's going to go bugs and gas.

[Cracklin Charlie]

8. Declare victory and go home.

Long tradition.