Could Sanctions on Russia Backfire?

Interesting perspective from a reporter based in Moscow. The sanctions on Russia from the West may backfire and actually harden the military resolve regarding Ukraine. 

One area that was not discussed in the article was how the sanctions and the contraction of the Russian economy could affect pension payments. Russia is an older nation with millions on pensions today. Rampant inflation is bound to hit these folks the hardest. As you can see in the below graph - the Russian people tend to trust Vladimir Putin the most during times of "special military actions" (see the rise of Putin's popularity during the invasion of Crimea) but least when people's pensions are threatened (see what happened to how people's trust in him greatly dropped when he proposed raising the pension age back in 2018). Just something to keep in mind.