You're missing the point which is not justifying the invasion, but suggesting that the US deliberately favored it because it happened to know Putin's sensibilities and how would he react to things.
Which, I can add, would be not tremendously different from past US actions (e.g. killing of Salvador Allende which ultimately meant thousands of Chilean victims).
Which, I can add, would be not tremendously different from past US actions (e.g. killing of Salvador Allende which ultimately meant thousands of Chilean victims).