About the cannon fodder, no i don't think so. Russia is not soviet union and they also had a population decline since 1991 after the collapse. Moreover they don't want to have big losses of personnel like they did in world war two. That's why they conduct the war the way they do. Yes they can deploy more soldiers than Ukraine, but that's it.

What i don't know is who will pay more in such a situation. Will USA bleed more financially or Russia?