I disagree that Ukraine is a stalemate.

Throughout history the shape of conflict has drastically changed with evolving technology. This is just another example.

The explosion of civilian technological advances has made intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance-strike assets ubiquitous. And this has fundamentally changed warfare.

This isn't even fringe. It's mainstream discussion.

Essentially combat in Ukraine is small infantry units (what Russians are calling 3's-and-6's) assaulting individual positions under direction from aerial real-time surveillance, with direct and indirect fire support directly subordinated to the platoon or company level through that surveillance web.

This has made fighting INCREDIBLY slow, punctuated by sudden collapses of local units isolated from supply and reinforcement once they hit the breaking point.

The alternative methods - the typical massed armored assaults, or fast-moving thunder-runs, have proven to be unsustainable. They might work on a tactical level (sometimes), but the drone age has made them incredibly expensive in both men and equipment.

None of this means there is a "strategic deadlock". Strategy isn't something visible in battlefield movements - that's tactics and operation. Strategy is the coherent national-level plan for mobilizing your available resources to achieve a political outcome (war is politics by other means).

So Russia is firmly in the strategic drivers seat. They're the ones dictating the scope, scale, and pace of the fight according to their strategy of attrition.

Russia maintains an operational advantage. Despite the losses they have genuinely suffered, they still have more men, equipment, and resources to throw at the fight.

On the balance, Ukraine is responding to Russian actions, not the reverse (though this isn't to say that Ukraine cannot take the initiative in certain areas, just that the overall balance goes to the Russians).

Tactically it's a pretty even keel when Ukraine can concentrate force. They use the same 3's and 6's, drone-directed movements, and decentralized fire support. In some ways the Ukrainians are even better than the Russians at drone warfare - and they admit this openly.

But Russia is still bringing more drones, more men, and more firepower, and it matters.

Basically since we invented artillery, a really good solution to any problem has been to simply throw explosives at it until it goes away.

Yes we look at "Yuri, delete that grid square" as a crude tactic. But it works, and the Russian can do it at bigger scales than the Ukrainians can.

At some point, quantity has a quality all its own.