The lindworm rolling towards Kyiv raises fears of the worst: that the Kremlin, surprised by the Ukrainians' spirit of resistance and held back by their fighting power, will now use the full brutality of its war machine to subjugate the "brother people".
A failure of the campaign in Ukraine would be dangerous for Putin's rule and thus also for himself.
The ruble is in free fall and the economy is in deep crisis.
At some point even the legendary tolerance of the Russians will be exhausted.
Putin needs a “victory”.
He doesn't care who and what has to be sacrificed for it.
He has already demonstrated the orgies of violence he is capable of in Chechnya and Syria.
Opening the door to the EU for Ukraine?
In order to stop Putin on his bloody path, the EU is now even financing arms deliveries to Ukraine, which, there are signs of normality again, may not be delivered via Hungary.
Other Central and Eastern European countries, on the other hand, even want to hear the pleas of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to open the door to the EU for his country.
That would be the strongest sign of solidarity and connection with this invaded country - apart from membership in NATO, which nobody in the West dares even think about anymore since Putin threatened nuclear war.
The greatest threat to Putin is Western values
But can one really believe that the Kremlin would accept Ukraine's entry into the EU if (bombed) Kyiv pledged not to join NATO in perpetuity, as some exaggerated reactions after the Putin shock consider possible?
Putin did not invade Ukraine to let his iron curtain come down at the Russian border.
The EU and the values these letters stand for pose greater threats to Putin and his regime than any division of NATO.
If he ever pulls out of the Ukraine completely, he will leave scorched earth behind if no one from his own ranks gets in his way.