I really expected him to park Russian troops inside the new "people's republics" and wait, and wait, and see how the West responds (or more likely not responds). Then make his next move. As he did with Crimea. This all-out assault was not at all what I expected, appears to be an overreach, and is causing unity that even includes the Germans. Weird. If this drags on another month, they will kill him.
They may well do that. This invasion will create a hostile state on the border, much more hostile than before. The Ukrainians will remember this for generations. He may have to set up a puppet government and occupy Ukraine for a while, a very expensive long term proposition. This may cripple the Russian economy for quite a while.
Also, look for Ukrainian spec ops teams to commit acts of sabotage in Russia proper soon, if not already.