You also have to keep in mind how fucked up the demographics in Ukraine are. For some weird reason, birthrates were really low in the 90s while many people left the country. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Ukraine

indeed

Ukrainian gambit is that taking land gives them negotiating table chips, while the land that they are sacrificing is land that would be given to Russia in a negotiation anyway. They're banking on the fact they're not actually losing anything and that gains past a certain point are something Russia wouldn't want anyway since they couldn't keep/occupy the land that isn't majority russian-ethnicity in a reasonably stable way.

I think it probably means the thing they care about more in negotiations is policy. They'll give the russian land back and let them keep donbass/crimea but will want nato membership as a trade off and safety guarantee or something in order to sell the loss of those territories as acceptable.

steiners counterattack will allow us to push them back - some ukrainian general idk

The Kursk incursion works in Russia's favor because it means that AFU has to be attacking in the open making it much less costly to eliminate them than having to storm trenches and fortified cities. Given Russian army's vast superiority in numbers, they don't need to pull troops from the south to halt Ukraine in Kursk. They do want Ukraine to over commit to their offensive though. The more troops Ukraine wastes in Kursk, the faster the rest of the front collapses.

Exactly, once Russia splits the front in two at Pokrovsk, it's gg well played. The Kursk situation will only expedite their downfall, considering Ukraine was already overextended. Their reliance on Western support necessitates visible victories for their sponsors. This strategic disadvantage leaves them unable to execute tactical retreats or any actions deemed unfavorable by the West. They must continuously demonstrate offensive prowess, hence such maneuvers as the Kursk incursion. Contrarily, Russia's military enjoys greater freedom from media scrutiny, granting it substantial flexibility in combat operations.