> Putin expected this to be over in 72 hours, he kind of needed it to be over in 72 hours.

This is highly unlikely.

However the coming weeks and months shake out in this war and in the broader political picture, it's important to approach the situation realistically.

This isn't a video game, cartoon or Hollywood movie. The timeline isn't going to be measured in days and the primary agents' motivations and actions aren't as simple as in cartoons.

Pretending otherwise will only confuse you, over and over as events transpire, about why things aren't going like they would in a cartoon.