It will be weeks before we have a detailed explanation of what caused the explosions that have effectively ended the useful life of the two undersea pipelines. It may well be that Putin's calculus was as described in this article. The upside, however, is that it severs the ability of spineless European leaders to imagine that if they force Ukraine to surrender (oh, sorry, agree to a "negotiated peace settlement") they will be able to re-attach themselves to their addiction to Russian hydrocarbons. As Putin can no longer trade European pressure on Ukraine for a resumption of gas supplies, there will be far less incentive for European leaders to press Ukraine to stop reclaiming its territories. And so, like everything else Putin has done over the last few years, the results will be the exact opposite of what he hoped for.

Now, if only the West would stop babbling about "supporting" Ukraine and actually provide meaningful assistance, the Russian rabble-in-uniform would be crushed within a couple of weeks and regime change would occur within Russia, opening the door to eventual greater stability and being the definitive end to the sad little Tzar's inane adventurism.

But we're too fearful and spineless, so we will continue to sacrifice Ukrainian lives in the hope of keeping our own indolent complacent voters untouched. And hey, that strategy worked brilliantly in the 1930s, right...?