I've got to admit, I didn't think that Putin was actually going to go ahead with the invasion a few days ago, back when the tensions were just starting to erupt.
I still think that this is going to massively backfire for Russia, even if the Russians do manage to annex Ukraine and turn it into a puppet state. The Ukrainians are not going to surrender easily, and this could quite easily turn into an Afghanistan situation right on Russia's doorstep.
Putin may be an autocrat, but he cannot completely ignore public opinion. There are already signs that the Russian people do not want this war, and when the casualties begin to become visible, it could put the current Russian leadership in a very precarious position indeed, especially given the current economic situation in Russia. I just hope that too many people don't have to lose their lives before we finally start to see some positive change in this part of the world.
It's easy for you to post glib nonsense like this when you're not the one being directly affected by it, let alone doing the actual fighting. The actual fact of the matter is that war is hell, and it is inherently socially regressive in it's effects, because it invariably involves poor, young men suffering and dying for the benefit of rich, powerful, old men, and it was forever thus.
Potentially thousands of people are going to die because this conflict; that's thousands of families who are going to be missing fathers, brothers, sons, cousins, and uncles, and it's a personal loss which will be mourned profoundly by these people for the rest of their lives. Do not forget that.
