Then there's also the fact, which I found interesting that just last week Putin held meetings with Macron, and a phone call between the two was reported to have happened sometime today, in which Putin was explaining the situation to Macron. I think an operation to this scale does require planning and preparation, and some of these meetings with Macron, one of which lasted for hours, were probably Putin trying to reason with him as an intermediary perhaps?
But I also get the sense that he would've presented his case in a pragmatic way, perhaps sharing information of Moscow knowing what the west was up to in Ukraine and how it would not be tolerated, I daresay that these negotiations were unsuccessful and this is why we're in the place we're in today. Obviously this is my mere interpretations of the facts, but I do think that Russia wouldn't have done this, of all times today after weeks of being accused of precisely this, without an extremely compelling reason.
Not sure how long this will last, Russian military has shown to be rather efficient in its operations, and Zelenski has initiated a draft pretty much, but at the same time has made declarations of feeling alone in this, finally realizing that selling his country and serving as cannon fodder for NATO isn't wise at all, or at least I would hope he's had this realization.
