[bilbo0s]

Just my own prediction, but I suspect even after Putin is gone, the position of the Russian state vis-a-vis its buffer zones will remain unchanged.

I've seen this before on smaller scales in Iraq, and Afghanistan. We take out the leaders, but the perceived grievances remain unchanged. In fact I was a bit surprised because I thought that, at a minimum, the grievance would change to "you killed our leader". It didn't happen that way at all.

I bet the same thing happens in Russia. I honestly hope that our policymakers have more of a plan B in place than they have had with other conflicts. Just in case this turns out to be a concern that drives a leader and not a leader that drives a concern. Because though I'm sure we all would've lost friends or family in either case, at least there would have been a chance in hell of victory against the latter.