But Putin did not invade knowing what has happened would happen. His yes-men told him that Ukraine would be quickly subdued and their government quickly replaced with Kremlin friendly puppets.

With a quick operation and quick pull-out sanctions would not have hurt Russia too much. Of course now they have painted themselves into corner. Russia cannot simply pull out without loosing all face and prestige.

They sell weapons and rely on allies in various countries. If Russia cannot demonstrate military superiority and capability they will loose arms sales and client states will turn away from them realizing that Russian power is not worth having.

Putin has given Russian prosperity though in the past. Russia today is a far more prosperous country than the mess he took over in the early 1990s. But Putin has of course been making a series of bad choices undermining Russian prosperity in recent years. This invasion is the largest blunder he has ever made. Hopefully it leads to him being toppled.

It would be nice to see Russia finally getting some real democracy.