>>In elite chess, it’s considered impolite to continue playing losing is inevitable.

You mean the same way Ukraine falling to the Russian invasion in about a week was inevitable?

It's war. Not chess.

The point of the sanctions were to punish the RF for bad behavior and to make it difficult for the RF to continue to build/replace/maintain pretty much anything high-tech. Military high-tech comes at the top of that list. The RF has a program building 'new generation' armor and comms for their infantry (what the special forces AKA 'little green men' were wearing/using when they took Crimea). There's been none of it seen on the Ukraine front. Might be connected; might also say something about Russian manufacturing. So far there's been maybe two Armata MBTs - the one that's supposed to be so much better than anything - seen.