It's

 

not just a challenge for them but for us as well. 

Again, somebody's been planning this for a long time, others weren't expecting it and didn't want it, which side is which isn't all that hard to figure out.

‘What madness looks like’: Russia intensifies Bakhmut attack

"Part of the Kremlin’s challenge is keeping up with the weapons and supplies that Western allies have provided to Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that NATO members “have become a party to the conflict, pumping weapons, technology and intelligence data into Ukraine.”

It's exactly what they wanted all along...They have drug US/NATO into a fight we didn't want and cant afford.

Ukraine hails US military aid as cease-fire said to falter

"A Western official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Wagner Group “has moved from being a niche sideshow of Russia’s war to a major component of the conflict,” adding that its forces now make up as much as a quarter of Russian combatants."

(Sandbaggin for the real one yet to come...)

"In Russia, two signs emerged Tuesday that officials were grappling with the military shortcomings revealed during the conflict in Ukraine."

(This is wat you do before the real hostilities start, you take troops and equipment and you "test" the other sides tactics and capabilities and then you adjust accordingly. Nothing on the battlefield gonna matter when Brussels, London etc are under attack from something they dont have a defense for...and now? Now NATO is a party to the conflict just like they didn't wanna be. Were gonna sustain this? Were gonna outlast the Russians? History says always otherwise.)

"Russian Defense Minister Shoigu, whose performance has been fiercely criticized in some Russian circles but who has retained Russian President Vladimir Putin’s confidence, said Tuesday that his military would use its experience in Ukraine to improve combat training.

(They have used Ukraine like a petri dish...)

"Military communications and control systems will be improved using artificial intelligence, Shoigu said, and troops will be given better tactical gear and equipment."

'The second indication of trouble involves Russia’s production of weapons and other supplies its military needs for the fight in Ukraine. The deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, warned that officials who failed to meet deadlines for such items could face criminal charges.

'Putin appointed Medvedev last month to head a new commission tasked with trying to solve the military’s supply problems. Numerous reports have suggested Russia is running low on certain weapons and was sending some troops into battle with insufficient equipment and clothing."

You gonna give your third string the best of everything right off the bat? Or you gonna hold back? I aint buyin all that  "reports have suggested Russia is running low on certain weapons"

fact is?

Nobody knows for sure.

But if you look at how Putin prepared for this so far in advance? I'd say there's plenty of weapon stocks behind the Urals we dont know about.

Lithuania’s defense minister is leery Russia will run out of ammo

"The U.S. government just assessed that Russia will run out of serviceable ammunition in 2023. Do you agree?

"The people in the hotspots, at the frontline, cannot confirm this information. And as far as we know, Russia has sufficient artillery capabilities and ammunition. We’re not sure about stocks, but some experts calculate that by spring next year, it may run out of it. We are not sure about their industrial capacity, which would allow for replenishing their stocks, and that’s the question."

"You think they have the ability to replenish their stocks?"

"They have the possibility to restore some of their stocks."

I'd go with the Lithuanian defense minister on this one...