All good points. I guess the real question is, would Putin and his people be up for an extended conflict in the theater.
There’s no doubt if the people back him and he commits that more resources would be allocated.
I don’t think it is a question of if Putin wants to. Russians have a lot of pride. They will not feel there is any other choice, imo. Countries have collective character, for the most part. For Russia, pride is big. At least that is how it looks to me. They cannot be so smacked down without a response. It is not in them.