Putin has 2 choices.
1. Back down and let the west engulf him and die.
2. Or die taking those down who are trying to take him down.
That is a false choice.
He can be left alone all he wants, he just needs to keep his hands and feet to himself.
If all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Russia's economy is too small to provide Russia with international influence, so all they have left is their outsized military- i.e. nuclear weapons and missiles.
That's all they have, so they are using it.
They can always just quit using offensive methods like invasions, poisoning, assassination, windows, etc and act like the rest of the 1st world.
Nobody wants Russia to "die." But lots of countries don't want Putin's revanchism.
