No Shit, Pardon My French.

I don't know why people even bother. RT quotes opinions of "experts" on Russia's campaign in 404. I am on record--remove these political science and "history" clowns from military affairs. So, get this:

Valdai Discussion Club program director Oleg Barabanov told RT he believes that the outcome of the intervention in Ukraine will depend on how successful the Russian military operation is, specifically whether or not Kiev's forces and militia will halt their armed resistance. “If the operation is going well in the next couple of days and military objectives are achieved, Ukraine will have no choice but to start discussing Russia’s demands on demilitarization. But if the operation starts stalling, the shock of the first few days will dissipate, and Ukraine will be able to shore up its defense. Then this will turn into a prolonged military conflict where negotiations won’t play a decisive role,” he said.

1. Oleg Barabanov is not an an "expert" in warfare, as most Valdai operatives are not. 

2. Read what is highlighted in yellow. Attentively. 

In other words, if someone survives a car crash that means that this someone continues to live. Meanwhile, if one doesn't survive car crash, that means this someone is dead. Do you feel the profundity of this whole thing, its existential breadth. So, if your campaign succeeds, then you win. If your campaign fails, then you lose. Wow! In related news, water is wet, the sky is blue and we need to breathe air to survive. In general, political science is one of the most useless, fake and, in fact, harmful fields of "study" since it provides zero relation to the realities of modern civilization which is governed by laws which require a completely different set of tools to grasp them. If not, then yes, stating obvious trite BS is what constitutes modern political science. I will only quote (again) great Russian poetic genius Alexander Pushkin from his immortal Evgenii Onegin. 

  We all meandered through our schooling
     haphazard; so, to God be thanks,
     it's easy, without too much fooling,
     to pass for cultured in our ranks.
That is why Pushkin is genius.