I think it is more than that taste of freedom. There is payback.
Russia went all in with a bad hand.
The poodles have become pit bulls.
Latvia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland all have PM/Pres in Tbilisi.
Russia will back down very soon IMHO.
The oligarchs sucking on the petro-teat will reign Putin in.
I have an aunt who's family fled from Ukraine during Stalin's genocide there. They told me stories of starvation, torture and cannibalism that would curl your hair.
Payback's a bitch, huh Vladimir?
And Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland are NATO members. If Russia attacks one of them, by virtue of the alliance, we will have a huge war on our hand, right? At least with European help.