It's an internal Russian affair that just happened to spill over into the surrounding countries and that could engulf the world if not dealt with properly. Russia is practically bankrupt, infrastructure is failing they have another 5 to 10 years left and then the bill is due. This may buy them some time, or it may cost them everything.

How is this buying any time? The sanctions will only make everything worse. There is no profit to be had from exploiting Ukraine, at least not comparable to the military cost and the sanctions.

It's buying time because Putin owns it, so his cronies will let him cling to power to either resolve it or pay the price for failure.

If not for this he would have to face the fact that Russia is on its last legs. They won't be able to sustain this war for very long either hence all the bluster about repercussions if other countries decide to help Ukraine prolong the conflict.