Reports this morning that Russia is offering talks with Ukraine. The Russian offensive to take Kyiv is being met with strong resistance from Ukraine forces. Thousands in Kyiv showed up at a recruitment center in Kyiv to volunteer to back up uniformed soldiers and were given rifles and ammunition. France reported that it was sending defensive weapons to Ukraine. There are also reports of up to 30 Russian tanks destroyed by anti-tank missiles.
I do not think that Putin anticipated significant resistance and thought that Russian forces would roll through the country largely unopposed like what happened in Crimea. Putin even offered immunity and reintegration to Ukraine soldiers who laid down their weapons, thinking that there would be a mass desertion in face of superior Russian forces. But that has not happened.
Russian forces still have the upper hand and will more than likely be able to take Kyiv in a few days. But the battle could be catastrophic with massive loss of life on both sides and Kyiv left badly damaged. And after a bloody battle for Kyiv, residents are not going to treat the occupying Russian forces kindly. Putin may be facing the same reality that the US faced when the neocons claimed that the US would be greeted as liberators in Baghdad.