I don’t think there is a single person here in favor of war with Russia. Rather, I think they are all pointing out that Putin is just doing what putin does. He’s a bully that shakes down the weak kids for their lunch money but when the Football team shows up, he backs down.
If you have never read Red Dawn, I highly recommend it. It shows how there could be a real war between the US and the Soviets without anyone using Nukes, not that I would be in favor of such a thing.
But the fact is, the real world brings consequences that prevent leaders from taking actions that they take almost whimsically in movies.
i.e. you don’t just drop a few nukes because it looks like you are losing. You negotiate a peace, and hopefully one that can still save face. That is how the real world works. Though, there is, technically, always the possibility of “winner take all” war, it is absurdly rare, and with the result of “all” being a nuclear wasteland, it’s even more rare.
Red Dawn had both sides using nukes.