Putin has proven that the Russian military is a Potemkin army. Putin’s threats against western Europe [pick a country] ring hollow if he can’t even capture Kyiv. Likewise, his nuclear threats don’t seem plausible when one considers US and Russian nuclear arsenals are comparable in size, yet Russia spends only a fraction of what the US spends annually on their required upkeep. In other words, Russia’s nukes may not even work. Although no one wants to test that hypothesis, neither does Putin knowing that the “success” or failure of any nuclear strike would likely mean retaliation and his own death. Putin’s obsession with self-preservation is well documented.