Apparently, part of the problem is that a large number of contract soldiers are out of contract very soon, so a lot of gaps need to be filled. There's also the matter of trying to keep the Stans in order (not going too well given the Kazaks' love in with Europe and China). Enough elite units have walked away to leave the Russian military with a serious headache. As for all the threatening rhetoric, that has been going on since February. Putin's speech was measured by comparison with some of the insane shyte that Lavrov and Medvedev were coming out with.
I'm still hopeful that it will end soon with Putin eating sardines in Antalya.
I'm still hopeful that it will end soon with Putin eating sardines in Antalya.