It seems like Putin’s order to invade Russia rested on some flawed assumptions of his and his underlings. The first – and the biggest – was an underestimation of the fighting morale and capacity of the Ukrainian people. Another was the depth and spread of a distinct Ukrainian nationality since 2014. Still another the reaction of the countries, comprising NATO. Instead of setting them once against another, as Putin anticipated, the invasion drew them together in common purpose to oppose Russian invasion. A fourth assumption was a misreading of how negatively the world would react to Russia’s invasion and war crimes. Finally, the level of resistence in Russia to the invasion, despite state organized repression of protesters and tight control of the media, was greater than anticipated.