The Russians likely figured they'd roll right into Ukraine and win the war--excuse me, their "special military operation"--in no time at all. Unfortunately for them, the Ukrainians have proven to be a bigger pain than Putin expected.

Now, a couple of years later, the war continues. Sure, Ukraine isn't exactly pushing Russia out, but they're making it costly, and that might just be enough in the long run.

How costly have they made it?

Well, it seems Russia is now offering an amnesty for illegal guns because they need them for their military.

Russia's National Guard (Rosgvardia) has launched an amnesty programme allowing citizens to surrender firearms and avoid penalties for minor firearm-related infractions, as it seeks to cheaply supplement military supplies at the front in Ukraine.

This initiative comes as Russia aims to expand access to weaponry while the its invasion of Ukraine continues to deplete current stockpiles.

...

“The Rosgvardia amnesty applies when citizens contribute their weapons for the Special Military Operation, ensuring that rather than being penalised for minor storage violations, their patriotic gesture is recognised,” he wrote. “The agency now exempts gun owners with minor offences from liability if they donate their weapons for the Special Military Operation.”

Now, I'm not overly familiar with BNE Intellinews as an outlet and this aligned entirely too much with what I love to see, so I did a little digging. Multiple sites not only rated them as fairly neutral in their reporting but also as factually reliable.

In other words, this is reliable reporting, which only makes this more hilarious to me.

While Russia has a massive military and a lot of military spending, there were indicators along the way that they weren't really prepared for a protracted conflict with a US-supported rival. They've pulled a number of weapons systems out of mothballs and put them on the front lines and have reportedly been doing that for some time.

So now they're reduced to begging for criminals to give them guns--for which they get a pass on possessing--so they can send them to the front lines.

It's hilarious, really.

It should also be noted that Russia has extensive gun control and is surrounded by nations with similar levels of gun laws. If they figure there are enough illegal guns in the country that they can get criminals to turn them in and advance their war effort, then why would anyone figure gun control will work literally anywhere on the planet?

The short answer is that it's not.

Russia is just trying to turn the illicit arms trade into a source of firearms for its military because they're desperate. This was supposed to be a quick in, annex a portion of Ukraine, then get out. It hasn't been. It's been a long, grueling fight that sure, they might win in the long run, but at what cost? This went from a foregone conclusion to a repeat of their debacle in Afghanistan.

Now they're begging criminals to help them out, apparently because they need the guns and can't make them fast enough.

At some point, you've got to assume they'd just cut their losses and call it a day, but then again, this is Russia we're talking about here.