>So by defending a city that is being invaded you are hiding behind human shields? If you quarter or station troops in a building that also has civilians, for anything but the evacuation of those civilians, yes. >My point is that it was a full scale from the beginning Not really. They moved to secure Chernobyl because you'd absolutely have to push beyond the exclusionary zone because you don't want that on the battle map. They effectively dominated the skies in the first week and then didn't push the air cover advantage for the subsequent weeks. They could have pushed the shock and awe factor into major cities but slowly have encircled them and allowed for humanitarian corridors while allowing defecting Ukrainian troops to flee the country through those corridors. If they wanted it to be over, it would be over. If they didn't mind stacking civilian bodies they'd be stacked.