I think that there's another angle here too. That Putin made demands of NATO publicly and NATO rejected them completely just as publicly has backed him into a c

I think that there's another angle here too. That Putin made demands of NATO publicly and NATO rejected them completely just as publicly has backed him into a corner. Perhaps he only meant to bluff to extract concessions in the beginning, but now there's no way out without looking weak. I think he has to at least make a symbolic invasion now for political reasons. I feel very sorry for the Ukrainians caught up in this game, as they don't seem to have a win condition, and they're the ones going to pay the ultimate price.