Umair, I continue to say that you might be vastly overestimating Putin. Yes, he's probably expecting the West to be weak. But he might've started the war without all these strategic mastermind calculations. Because of his ego, or because he was bored. We don't know. His main expectation was that he'd walk in and Ukraine would welcome him. He miscalculated big time. He fucked up to be precise. And Russia's crumbling. The problem is that he'll probably double down not because of some smart plan but because he's been cornered like a rat so unleashing hell on everyone might seem to him like a better way out of his pathetic situation because in hell no one wins. I'm speculating too - just like you are. But I do think you're wrong in continuing to give him credit for some smart plan to take advantate of the West. No, he's just deranged and delusional and made a huge mistake. Here's my note

https://alexeisorokinstories.medium.com/the-end-of-russia-458a7a0c46f0