go nuclear pretty quickly, IMO.

The best way to take him out is for his own people to do it. This is why we need to ramp up the sanctions to include oil/gas. Then wait a few months as their economy crumbles and unrest starts to grow amongst the population as well as the elites and generals.

The way to have prevented this altogether was to have made it clear to Putin/Russia a long time ago that any/all former Soviet states that want to join NATO would be allowed to do so regardless of what he wanted. Putin played us pure and simple. He convinced the gullible and the corrupt that his victimhood narratives were valid - and now Ukraine is paying the price.