People simply view the whole ukraina conflict wrong imo. This is not a war on ukraina by Russia. This is a war on Russia by the west. Like with Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi before Putin, the west has zero tolerance with challengers to its global financial hegemony. There is a goal set all the way back in 2008, and probably even prior, to pacify Russia. It has been escalating ever since. Failure to achieve the said goal is fatal for the west because Russia is intent on going all the way in its goal of achieving global fairness. Russia's direction is irreversible in a sense that their financial and economic architecture is structured to counter a global monopoly on finance. These are not really escalations aimed at prolonging the conflict. These are steps that are next in chain of minimal commitment of resources, or as they like to say in the west, of minimal costs. When they started, none of them have probably envisioned it would get this far, but at the same time everyone knew there could be no compromise. Global hegemony cannot get restructured without a fatal blow, and in the long run unfair slave like western treatment could not be tolerated by states that are powerful enough to rebel, and that nobody else will do it except Russia, not anytime soon anyways. What has been started cannot be undone, it has to come to a conclusive end. Demilitarize and pillage Russia, and send it back 100 years again, and by doing that also postpone China and India from getting any ideas, and as a bonus they get to install military bases around China on Russian territory, OR go through a period of massive currency debasement/hyperinflationary collapse, where all the western wealth implodes. And therefore, today they are escalating out of necessity, being hostage to their commitment. And this is why, the argument that the west is weak and therefore it will no go to war, is just not meaningful enough. Add to it that many in the west think Russia is bluffing, and you've got yourself a recipe for a disaster.