If you think that Putin actually, really, thinks that NATO will (or ever want to) attack Russia first, without Russia attacking NATO, you're stupider than I thought.
Not now, not much. But Russian financial status is bound to deteriorate if there's determination in the west. It will start to matter.
I would not agree that this is "unprovoked". NATO has been provoking for 30 years. James Baker promised that NATO would move "not an inch..." into East Germany. Yet, what happened. H. W. Bush promised that NATO would not expand to former Warsaw Pact countries. But what do we see now??
You are the most stupid person I've ever seen. When Soviet collapsed, what was the need for NATO to expand. And NATO bombed Libya and Yugoslavia without UN support. How can one military alliance controls the entire world?
You're an idiot. Ukraine never attacked Russia. Ukraine never shelled Russia. Ukraine never sent terrorists into Russia. Ukraine never invaded Russia. Not one Russian soldier died from Ukrainian fire - until Russia invaded. That would be "provocation". Making a sovereign decision to join whatever association the country wants to join is only a "provocation" for a military invasion if you're a Russian shill, probably being paid for spreading Russian propaganda. Or a really, really enormous idiot. Which one is it?
Only short term, not long term. After 10 years, Europeans will forget. Look at all the sanctions after 2014 Crimea.
You are the biggest idiot. And stupid too. If a nuclear power sees the existential thread, what a country would do??
Again, the "existential threat" (look up the spelling of that word, moron, this is the second time you did that) only exists in your feverish imagination. Putin is not a moron, like you are. He knows exactly what NATO is for and it is to CONTAIN Russia, not to attack it.
As a European, though living abroad and speaking to my brothers and family there, everyone understands that to hurt Putin, there will be economic pain but it's suffer now or pay far more later. There is also opportunity in conflict, time to start building a lot of LNG tankers just to begin with.