AW,
If you have already shown your hand to your opponent, i.e. we won’t give jets, we won’t escalate, we won’t etc., then you have already lost the pot.
There is a big difference between havng a "cool head’ and being frozen. Putin knows that right now NATO is frozen into inaction.
Putin is a great student of history and so far has made all the correct moves to achieve his aims.
OTFoolish