I wish it were that simple, but I think the core of the Putin promoters are rational actors, feeding the need for something to hate among their sycophants and random ultracrepidarians.
"The surest way to work up a crusade in favor of some cause is to promise people they will have a chance at maltreating someone else. To be able to destroy with good conscience, to be able to behave badly and call your bad behaviour 'righteous indignation' - this is the height of psychological luxury, the most delicious of moral treats." Aldous Huxley.
“The surest way to work up a crusade in favor of some cause is to promise people they will have a chance at maltreating someone else. “
Something to keep in mind when we see the hatred against Russians on the board.