I supported removing Saddam Hussein, but it was because I genuinely thought that the Bush/Cheney administration had strategic goals and plans for the Middle East, including dealing with Iran. Boy was I wrong.
I agree that the most significant aspect of this is that there have still been no nukes. I wonder if Putin is concerned that either they’re no longer functional, or that he can’t trust his underlings to use them.
This is a little more crude than probably necessary, but it’s pretty much correct.
[Update a while later]
Russia is an empire that needs liberation.
Many people don’t realize that russia is still an empire. In fact, russia fits perfectly the definition of an empire: an extensive group of states or countries under a single supreme authority.