Good article Alexander.

Putin appears to be digging himself into a deeper hole -- in effect, creating a dungeon for himself and all Russians.

A repetition of his assault of Syria cities would be very different now in Ukraine. The daily imagery would be immediate to the world -- plenty and gruesome.

What happens back in Russia is key. Some kind of realization that Putin is no good for the country's future. Unfortunately there is no apparent path for a change of leadership. Although a public vote of no confidence could be tried (where there are just too many people on the streets to lock up).

All the groups will mostly suffer greatly -- the military command around Putin will be open to war crimes brought against them -- the oligarchs will lose a big chunk of their assets and will be essentially confined to Russia (and perhaps China) -- the common people will experience inflation, all kinds of new draconian restrictions and a degraded standard of living.

A change of leadership needs to take place. The more democratic this process the better.

Many thanks