dude, you've been completely triggered over the goings on in Ukraine. I'm not criticizing, just saying. I mostly skip over your posts. Posting here is a way to deal with the stress, so have at it.
"Don't provoke him" ? We decide what we will do, not him. We have to be consistent in our words and actions. We must say what we will do and then do what we said. One of the worst mistakes this country made recently is when Obama drew a red line regarding use of chemical weapons in Syria and we didn't follow up when Assad used it. It appears that Vlad didn't think we'd follow up this time either. As I said earlier, the age of appeasement is over. China take note.
Sanctions will gradually accumulate in their effect. They aren't going to stop his actions in Ukraine, which get worse every day. I have no idea how that will turn out. 80 million dollars a day is what it costs him to prosecute his war. Sanctions are going to bite harder and harder and he's bleeding out his treasury. After whatever happens in Ukraine happens, give it another two years. Sanctions will stay in place. The world will adjust and wean itself off Russian energy. That revenue will dry up. Eventually, Russia will reach a tipping point. The blow we deliver must be hard enough so that Putin will not be able to fight a war again.