You need to understand what Putin believes. He believes in the Russian Empire, in the "Third Rome" and Ukraine is important because Kyiv was the capital of the

You need to understand what Putin believes. He believes in the Russian Empire, in the "Third Rome" and Ukraine is important because Kyiv was the capital of the first Rus empire 1000 years ago. It's also the "origin myth" that gets propagated to the Russian armed forces (see Cathedral of the Armed Forces) and public. Also, will the oligarchs continue to support him it he just takes a scorched earth approach? Will the armed forces? If the myth fades who will follow?