The way the Russian army conducts operations they can’t build a latrine without expending massive amounts of munitions removing brush and three small trees. The smart thing to do would be for the Russians to pull back across the river, but the politics won’t allow it. They will stay there and lose men and equipment until there is no escape. The real strategic battle is west and south of Doneskt where these troops could be doing something useful.
I agree. They can probably make the Ukrainians pay pretty heavily for awhile, but that advantage will shift, and the possibility of a full-on disaster north/west of the Dnieper will be there.
But the effect on both sides' morale, particularly Ukrainian, that would come from Russia losing that territory north/west of the Dnieper would be significant. It'll happen anyway at some point, but I guess they just don't want it to happen now.