I’d like to believe this. But, it just doesn’t make sense. Why would Putin panic? He’s got the Germans playing hide and seek, Biteme is off to La La Land, and he has a massive military he doesn’t give a brown turd about ready to seize a few trillion dollars in natural resources.
Putin is panicking because
1. he’s not winning as easily as he thought his military could do - they outnumber the ukrainians 10 to 1 and are far better equipped, yet have not managed to take any city or hold the kyiv airport
2. the ukrainians are, surprisingly, becoming patriotic to defend Ukraine against Russia. They aren’t willing to give up Zelenskyy or become Russia
3. The moral on the ground among Russian troops and people are waning - they don’t understand why they are attacking a fellow East Slavic, Eastern Orthodox nation. They thought they would be welcomed as liberators, but they are treated as fascists.