When he intervenes abroad, the Russian president tends to use proxies or mercenaries, to minimize the impact on public opinion
By Samuel A. Greene and Graeme B. Robertson
The two-hour virtual summit between President Biden and Vladimir Putin, held Tuesday in the midst of very real worries about full-scale war, ended as expected: without a breakthrough.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/12/08/ukraine-putin-russia-invasion-public-opinion/