Unfortunate this is when we (NATO) can't put our head in the sand. Appeasement is not going to work, becuase the minute we give Putin an inch, he'll be taking a mile.
His back is against the corner, and the same situation would likely occur if the West appeased him on Ukraine but let him walk all over a place like the Baltics. The minute NATO or the West pushes back - directly or indirectly - and Putin is on his toes, his decision-making is going to have nuclear amibitions.
So the West is going to unfortunately have to address this. I think a solid play is to try and have the Putin administration collapse from within. The best thing that can happen is his generals turn on him, and Ukraine recovers their pre-February borders (and Crimea would be a plus).
There are non-nuclear options here outside of mutiny but I don't think Putin's pride and ego will let him entertain those options.
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