Maybe there’s some kind of red line that they can’t or won’t cross. Some communique behind the scenes saying that blowing up kiev would give away the kayfabe, and the USA would keep its hands from getting REALLY involved in the conflict as long as the russkies keep it at a low boil.

In the beginning it was pretty cool seeing the russians be much more judicious and target selective than America usually is - having talked to the guys involved in that stuff, their warnings about civvie infrastructure never seemed to make it up the chain of command in time to stop the bombings. Now, after all this time, it’s a lot harder to think they’re holding back in the hopes of not antagonizing the ukrainian populace for an eventual occupation. Seems like a mix of slavic ineptitude, bureaucratic stupididty, or fear.