I see that a lot. A lot of people seemed to have thought that sanctions would throw Russia into the stone age. That was obviously never going to happen, so now they came to the conclusion that since that is not happening Russia is even benefiting. Similar story with the Ukrainian summer offensive. Over hyped and then it did not turn out as well and now Ukraine is supposed to loose the war.

Fact of the matter is that Russia is paying a huge price. Military spending makes up more then 7% of GDP and that number is going up with energy profits going down fast and spending increasing. Artillery shells do not improve the quality of life of the average Russian, the smart ones left already and the longer the war lasts the less likely they it becomes they will return. With 350k casualties Russia is loosing a large chunk of its young male workforce. That is in the age group already smaller due to the massive impact of WW2. The longer this lasts, the more Russia is going to loose.