Reading Time: 6 minutes Is Russia preparing for a long haul, smartly fighting Ukraine with old generation machinery and keeping the next-gen equipment for the bigger game or the reality is completely different? Should the West consider giving an honourable exit to Putin or let more pain be inflicted upon the Ukrainians? In the end, granting Ukraine the membership of NATO was never the aim. The United States had different sets of aims, and it is achieving them with ease.