Someone else would take his place. Odds are that someone else would be far less restrained, as most Russians consider Putin to be too soft.
Discussion
I question any sources that say that honestly. Especially coming from Russia. He would directly benefit from the rest of us believing that narrative. You could be right though. I don't know. I'm just pretty skeptical in general these days with all the wars going on. Even for the sides I lean toward supporting. It's all a case by case basis for me. All governments I know of are varying degrees of dog shit.
FYI, this is a problem for others using your Lightning solution
