Since the show trials of the ‘30s Russian generals have been creatures of the Party no matter their competence. Putin is the Party the Hitler was the National Socialist Party . Even Stalin was limited after WW2 by the Politburo, who likely poisoned him. Putin has no Politburo and his generals are loyal. If a move is to be made it must come from some other circle. Maybe the oligarchs who don’t wish to see the fruits of their wealth inhaled into and changed into isotopes by a mushroom cloud.
IF a change comes it will be by the Russian oligarchs or mafia. They are not happy at all right now. They are very easy to track and to contain their wealth on the international stage. What happens there depends on how pissed the rest of the world becomes with Putin. Right now I’d say they are pretty pissed and scared and getting more-so each passing minute.
I am struggling to see how this ends. Nobody wants a return to the days of the Soviet Union. Not Russians, Ukraine, none of the FSU satellites, not Western Europe and not the US. I don’t see how Putin can claim that taking Ukraine is necessary to prevent it from joining NATO and act as a buffer state to Russia without doing the same to any other bordering state. What is more, the Ukrainians will be unwilling subjects to anyone and they are armed now and will become more so all the time. Russia will have no peace without genocide. Will the world allow that? I don’t know. They shouldn’t.
Having gone this far I don’t see Putin withdrawing. If he does he should still be a dead man. I doubt Ukrainians forget him soon.
Principles are good to talk about but usually disappear when sacrifice and personal pain are required to keep them.