Sanctions

As more and more sanctions are applied to Russia and to Russians it isn't just Russians who will be hurt. In fact, likely it won't be Putin or the people surrounding him that will be hurt very much. The people who will be hurt is all the companies and people around the world with business interests in Russia. So, there will be many bankruptcies and suicides from this around the world.

However, is it better to take a gun and go shoot people (like Putin is now) and steal their land and properties? Or is it better to punish the whole nation of Russia for what Putin is doing to Ukraine and possibly to other nations later just like Hitler did when he took over most of Europe in 1940.

I think the sanctions weapon which strangles a country or businesses in that nation is a far better tool than dropping a firebomb on a city in a nation and killing hundreds of thousands of people like was done on Germany and Japan during World War II towards the end of the war.

So, for now, the only way the U.S. and EU are willing to go is to slowly increase sanctions until enough people in Russia are suffering economically to the point where Putin hopefully stops what he is doing.

However, will these sanctions cause Putin to stop?

I don't think so. I think Putin believes it is his destiny to take back the lands of the Russian Empire that the Soviet Union had under it's control just after World War II.