Indeed: I think it is a too fine hair to split, generally.

The colloquial distinction is that sociopaths are still capable of a limited form of remorse.

The past view that Putin was not necessarily a psychopath hinged on the idea that his government was more than just him. For example that other people in his regime might have chosen to use a chemical weapon on British soil, but not necessarily Putin himself, directly.

The Ukraine war totally explodes the myth that Russia's foreign policy is under the control of anyone but Putin.

Either way, the point I was making is not that he is evil or violent, but that there's no reason to believe he would think he should act any differently when having people killed on foreign soil; he's unconstrained by any such deference or restraint.