The single kernel of truth in Putin's crazy little head is that historically, Eastern Ukraine has been ethnically Russian since whenever. All of Ukraine has been under Russian domination for just as long. I have made note that the usual suspects who can't handle the truth completely ignore or deny this as it is an inconvenient truth to their narrative of "democratic Ukraine", = not helping.

Some history for Putin: of all the periods of Russian domination, his current debacle resembles mostly the Bolshevik Revolution. That did not bode well for that idiot, Czar "Joe Biden Sr" Nicholas. Matter of fact, it ended a 300 + year reign of the Romanov Dynasty.

The autocratic monarch Nicholas involved Russia in WWI on the allied side and German Gen's von Ludendorf and von Hindenburg handed Russia its ass. Russian economy was shit, and army desertion was high. What started as a workers walk-out demonstration morphed into a nation-wide revolution that deposed the Czar and sued for peace and withdrawal from WWI in 1917. As a result, Russia was forced to cede most anything it claimed in Eastern Europe.

This to preface my suggestion that Putin should be more concerned about the reaction by the Russian people than he is the West's opinions/reaction. The last time the Russian government struggled to hold itself together internally like we are seeing now is when the Soviet Union collapsed.

Putin's got troops deserting in the field. I'm not Russian, but that's an unthinkable, mortal sin in my military mind. Unless justified. There are certain lines even professional military people aren't going to cross and if that's the case, Putin's got a REAL problem. Allies refusing to cooperate. Troops walking off the line. Most of the civilized World lining up to slap some kind of sanction on him.

I think he's done politically, win. lose or draw. If he's not careful, he might wind up in an unmarked grave in a Russian forest where they found the Romanovs.