So Putin is just going to sit being pummeled by NATO weaponry until this entire adventure blows up in his face and he is deposed. You are right Putin is not stupid. Putin was not stupid in attacking the Ukes, he was desperate. It was obvious if you look at his statements just prior to 2/24. The same type statements today. Forget the nuclear hubbub and look at what they’re laying the groundwork for. Soon a Uke attack with NATO weapons on Russia proper (Donbas) will be justification to precisely do as I say. The nukes, fo now, are a distraction to where and how the blow will fall.
I don’t know how he will deal with this mess he created, but taking on the United States, Germany, France, Britain, Poland, Turkey, Greece, and 23 more bordering and close to bordering nations all at once and from all angles, on Air, Land, and Sea, hardly seems the way out of it unless he wants his military to be left with no Air Force, no Navy, and a broken Army with no serious equipment left.