good old days

Putin is a modern day Stalin in the making

He wishes.

I know Trump hates pets
.Although its possible he could elevate Kim to that status

? trump is the pet in this scenario. in fact, worldwide, pet owner when it comes to maga though..

Yes, Trumps narcissisms makes it easy for nefarious world leaders to manipulate him.

The Ukraine war is a direct result of Trump's man crush on Putin.

Given Trumps history of admiration for totalitarian regimes and their leaders If Trump were still president? I believe our military support for Ukraine would have been nominal or non existent .

exactly. Putin knew Trump would do nothing if he invaded Ukraine (and Trump would probably pull out of NATO, weaken ties to Eastern European countries and Europe in general etc) so Putin waited for the elections to be sure what his next moves would be and when. Since Trump lost that put a delay on the moves into Ukraine. Putin's BEST chances of an easy win was Trump winning.

Yes,with Trump out of power the dynamics of Putin's invasion changed. Putin's biggest folly was his underestimation of Ukraine resolve and World reaction for Ukraine through continuous military support.
I suppose like Trump ,living in a bubble surrounded by yes men hasn't helped
On a personal note. Historically, totalitarian strongmen would rather burn the world than lose face especially during war.
However, history also proves ,fact is stranger that fiction. All we can do is wait and see.

Putin's actions have solidified the chances of Finland, Sweden, Ukraine and Georgia joining NATO, closing a deathly hug around Russia with exception of Belarus.

Bad news for him if he drops a tactile (or larger) nuke ANYWHERE near NATO countries which in that case would be nextdoor to Russia. I doubt China will jump into that game.

It's sad, really. Russia is a great country with great people but horrible leadership. Like MANY if not most countries of the world, but they take it to a new level.

Use of a nuke would be Putin's end game short of inner circle assassination or coup to prevent it. But the later is unlikely.
Retaliatory nuclear escalation whether it happens slow or quickly would most likely be inevitable.
It is sad about the Russian people. My experience is most people wish for the same hopes and dreams no matter where they may be from

On a personal note, As a child, while studying history in primary school I often wondered how Hitler could possibly turn ordinary citizens against humanity to become Nationalistic mindless drones.
With the rise of MAGA , its truly frightening how EASY it is.

It's true, history doesn't exactly repeat itself, but it certainly echoes.