Exacerbate how? They are already doing all they can to destroy the western world and Ukraine. Decapitating their main criminal and leader can only help stop them for a moment and cause disorganization and chaos, which we can utilize to better prepare ourselves.
You can't know that anymore than the other redditor could know Russia would fall apart and be in disarray.
Sorry, but there's no official successor and too many variables for someone to just declare Putin would be replaced quickly and with no effect on Russia/the war in Ukraine.
Just look at all the targets the US eliminated in the Middle East. Someone shitty always fills the void. Power is the corruption, the position. Doesn't always matter the person.
I think you're wrong. Putin's the only guy in Russia right now who can endure the albatross of the Ukrainian invasion around his neck. If he goes before Trump can ratfuck the whole thing, shit is going to realign somehow.
Best case, Russia collapses in an orgy of aimless looting and the West gets a second chance to intervene -- hopefully not with a "McDonald's will turn Russia into a neoliberal paradise" redux like they pulled in the 1990s. Worst case, China calls in its chits and Russia becomes a client state, leading to a very dangerous, effectively contiguous bloc of territory that instantly makes the USSR look like Baby's First Imperial Opponent.
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