That’s the biggest fuck up of all such regimes. Fascists can never say “it’s enough”. There is no “we are done, cool down the war machine, lets invest in domestic infrastructure.”

You can’t become a fascist by ever being satisfied with what you have, and you can’t remain in power as a fascist if you don’t keep pushing pain and terror. You just have to keep redlining the engine of human suffering until it finally stalls and breaks down.

Putin is held hostage by his own power and ideology, and can never stand down or step away with his head still on his shoulders.