Considering the stakes involved, I think it best to be cautious, but I wasn't actually referring to what Putin would do if NATO officially put boots on the ground in Ukraine. I was referring to the fact that Putin had legitimate concerns about Ukraine acquiring nuclear weapons prior to his decision to start his military operation in Ukraine.
I've seen no polls of what those under 50 in Russia think in regards to the west. I'm just pointing out the evidence that NATO failed to keep its word in regards to expansion and that many in Russia view that as a betrayal and that it strongly suggests that NATO and the U.S. can't be trusted to keep their word and that the only thing they respect is a display of military power. Also, pretty sure that most people in high offices in Russia are over 50.
You seem to be assuming that NATO nations will pour everything they have into this war. I don't hold that assumption. As to facts, it's a fact that even some in the mainstream media believe Ukraine may not win on the battlefield if NATO doesn't send Ukraine even more than they've been sending it so far. An article from the New York Post that came out about a week ago said that if Biden doesn't send Ukraine aircraft, Ukraine won't win:
Ukraine needs planes, Mr. President, or Putin will win | New York Post
It even acknowledges the possibility that this could trigger a nuclear war, but simply considers it to be bluster, even as it literally provides evidence that it's not (click on the link in the excerpt below for details):
**
Putin’s nuclear bluster should not deter our sending (or facilitating the transfer of) fighter planes to Zelensky’s forces.
**
Finally, the European part of NATO is faltering this winter. That in turn may bring more political changes, which could affect NATO's supplying of military aid to Ukraine. An article on that:
A Winter of Discontent: The Coming Cold Season May Trigger a Spring of Political Change in European Elections | europeanconservative.com
An interesting excerpt from the article:
**
Not all European countries have been caught flat-footed. The most prominent example has been the central European nation of Hungary. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has pursued a deviation from the European Union’s collective policy of isolating Russia over its invasion of Ukraine by continuing the importation of Russian energy, earning the ire of Washington and Brussels. Today, Hungary will be dealing with domestic cutbacks and regulations in power consumption, but it now stands better prepared with higher energy reserves while the rest of Europe faces the specter of rationing. Orbán chose national interest and realpolitik over the collective will of Europe concerning Russian sanctions.
The contrast of reactions between Budapest and Brussels to the coming crises of this winter have been noticed by those who pay close attention to international affairs. When the weather turns cold and the snow falls, the reality between a home in Hungary and a home elsewhere in Europe, let’s say Germany, will be evident to all. While the European Union’s leaders put all effort into presenting a united condemnation of Russian aggression to be exercised at any cost, Hungary’s leadership considered the potential danger to Europe’s economy from leveling sanctions in the midst of a recession. The EU’s policy has been one of ideology while Hungary’s has been one based on national interest.
The concept of national self-interest has been demonized by the Brussels elite as an idea responsible for Europe’s history of wars and chaos. Peace and virtue, they seem to suggest, can only be achieved if nation states abandon their national interests. Furthermore, in times of crisis, a collective demonstration of force must be made, even when that demonstration is harmful to a nation’s self-interest. Hungary has decided to ditch Brussels-style virtue-signaling and face the ensuing accusations of being selfish in exchange for being able to provide peace, and relative economic and political stability for its own people. The citizens of the rest of Europe are starting to take notice.
**