I agree with some bits here about the West but I again think your comments about Putin are too flattering.

You present him as some sort of mastermind on a global scale when in reality he's a thug with mediocre education, a misguided historical perspective and no real friends in the government (they're loyal as long as he can promise them wealthy life)

It would be easier for you to understand that if you knew the Russian language and watched Putin's "evolution" from the beginning to these days. Some things he lies about, but some things he does believe, and you can see it on his face and hear it in his words.

He did believe Russia would take Ukraine in a few days, maybe a week - they did so in Georgia in 2008, and they thought that the Russian Army is much stronger today. . He did believe that Ukrainians will meet Russian soldiers with flowers, especially in eastern and southern regions. He did believe that he could understand the world without using the internet. Isn't that crazy?

He's not a visionary. He's not a genius. He's someone that had been chosen by the elite because he was nothing special - an average KGB agent who could build loyal relationships with people around him.

What's however true and dangerous is that at this point he's old, probably delusional and guided by some strange mad rationales. He can do everything, even a nuclear attack, and he will find a way to justify that in his head. I only hope that he still cares about his daughters and that people around him still care about their children. I don't have any illusions about the West, they've already shown that beyond sanctions they will do very little, if anything, no matter how many people will die in Ukraine. They won't even give Ukraine the planes that we need so badly right now. They do act cowardly, not as cowardly as they did with Hitler and Stalin, but close to that.

Also, and it's important to understand, in helping Ukraine you help a nation that is already democratic and strives to be even more democratic in the future. Today the fight isn't just for a place where you want to impose democracy, again, like an expermeint. Today is the fight between a totalitarian regime and a democratic regime. If Putin wins here, he will see it as permission to go further and launch an even bigger war in a couple of years or so. He will set a precedent - now a stronger, bigger country can come to their neighbours and annex them. If you won't help Ukraine today you will probably enjoy your safety for some time, but in five years Putin will come to Poland, Hungary, the Baltic state and beyond that. He must be stopped now.