It's no use to blame Putin's subjects for all this. They did not push for this war. They were as surprised as anyone from the invasion, but of course they will

It's no use to blame Putin's subjects for all this. They did not push for this war. They were as surprised as anyone from the invasion, but of course they will support their army now because they have spent a decade learning to hate the west and blame it for every evil[1]. But putin also calculated (correctly) that the west wouldn't react strongly , like it didnt react with syria, georgia, karabakh, libya. Invading weak countries to make a victory lap is how he legitimizes himself to his subjects and to the nearby dictators (like aliyev). This was made worse by watching how afghanistan ended, and how the US is quickly shifting to the Pacific. The US needs to set a red line to stop him, that is the only thing that delegitimizes him 1.https://ecfr.eu/article/commentary_how_russia_has_come_to_loathe_the_west311346/ https://ecfr.eu/article/commentary_how_russia_has_come_to_lo...