They always knew, that is why they have been tickling his fancy, including famous Putin's "he is a bright person" (bright being not as smart but noticeable) to same Putin expressing latent sympathy to him for his persecution. But Russians never had any doubt about his nature. Russians merely gave him a chance--he blew it.
Considering the operational tempo as of lately, it looks like the offensive is being prepared. We'll know in due time. Putin reiterated Russia's objectives today. Same ol', same ol'--remove root causes or we will kill more of your SOBs and your personnel. This was in a preparation to tomorrow's phone call with Trump. Trump, as is his MO, surrounded himself with amateurs and neocons, and now is trapped. Yes, he didn't write "his" book. Somebody else did.
