>>516085611 (OP)
Not really, but it is bad for Russia.
They didn't have the resources or mass necessary to make this year's offensive successful, so they're sitting in 2 undermanned, unconsolidated salients around Pokrovsk.
They can't withdraw from these salients, even though it would make military sense to do so, because it would look bad politically.
But they aren't going to pour the men and resources in necessary to consolidate them because those resources are limited and these salients are a terrible position to fight from.
So instead they're just going to mass in the rear for next season's offensive and sacrifice the men holding these positions, letting Ukraine steadily roll them back until the salient is diminished enough to be holdable again and stabilizes.
It's basically the worst of all possible options for them since it completely wastes lives for no material gain, but I wouldn't read into those soldiers being written off too deeply. They're being written off because Russia's politicized military makes poor choices, not because it lacks the resources and capability to offer battle here. The fighting will get tough again in a few months, either in this sector or elsewhere.