When I asked a similar question the answer was that as long as mother Russia wasn’t threatened then Putin would have a politically hard time moving the country from a special military action to a war footing. Once Russia was threatened he could call up the reserves and he’d also have some other powers he can’t call on now. Ukraine has a delicate balancing act and they understand what works and where the red lines are better than us armchair warriors. It does appear that the way we see the war and the way most Russians (who have more limited access to the world) see it are vastly different.
Is it really though? The press certainly has a history of determining what the American public hears or doesn't hear. I find we have no better, and perhaps maybe even worse filtering of the news.