Under Trump, Putin would not dare launch this military operation and Trump is the only politician who has said he is ready to stop this conflict. And he can. Just by taking his Javelins back.
Discussion
Give Putin another twenty years, he has not yet completed the mission of destroying Russia.
Putin's influence should not be overestimated. He is essentially just a manager, and his actions partly reflect the aspirations of the people, which explains his phenominal popularity. Roughly speaking, Russians are behind Putin's image.