Lowkey, if there’s anything that might actually take this shyt overboard it’s a cyber attack on infrastructure in sanctioning countries. That’s by far the most mobile form of attack today and could be impactful. On Russia’s end it’s not prudent to further provoke NATO and on NATO’s end it’s best to leave at least a tiny shred of room for dialogue because eventually Kiev will fall and at some point both sides will need to talk.
I’m definitely convinced that we’re seeing a shift. In a way, this worked out great for America because it now gets a chance to reassert itself in Europe/NATO after years of deteriorating influence/unity.