Rub lies not in that his blitzkrieg failed, but in absence of early clearly articulated alternatives in case Ukraine didn't collapse quickly (that latter scenario, of its sustainability, is happily churning along); such alternatives more than likely existed, but were shelved too far away. I don't reckon Putin as an idiot — there’s a reason in his madness, there’s a sweetness in his uses of adversaries, and his economists are highly qualified folks, though the West helps them a lot by triggering, through clumsy moves, opposite-to-expected systemic responses in strongly non-linear economic environments; thus, price for Ukraine will probably turn out such that Kremlin would have not been likely surmised to pay at a start of the crisis, but not alarmingly greater one. Worse still, Ukrainian administration seems incapable to any reasonable peace agreements even more than Russians, because, due to him sheepishly sleepwalking the country into catastrophe, protracted war brings only reason for Zelenskyy to stay at power at all.