I won’t dispute what you suggest are Putin’s goals. But I will say that initiating war sets havoc in motion. And havoc is by definition not a controlled situation. As of Saturday February 26 the Russian invasion of Ukraine is not going swiftly for Putin. And now we have the ordinary citizens and President of Ukraine fighting a heroic fight with small weapons against a sluggish Goliath. This is not a propaganda triumph for Putin or for the Putin Republicans who chanted “Putin, Putin, Putin” at a radical conservative gathering (CPAC) in the USA. The gun freaks and 2nd Amendment devotees of Texas will find alliance with the determined citizens of Ukraine who use their guns to fight an attacking army. Are Republicans gonna say citizens should not fight as some in the party kiss Putin’s ass? I don’t see that lasting. It’s more likely that the fire of havoc will burn Putin into ashes.