Ah and thank you for suggesting this blog. It gives a clearer idea why Putin's inner circle might support the drive to war.

https://www.raamoprusland.nl/dossiers/binnenlandse-politiek/2094-why-russia-s-elite-went-to-war

The oligarchs who emerged under Yeltsin's rule gave up their involvement in Russia's domestic politics. They earned their money in Russia, but used the West to invest their capital. The balance of power shifted to Putin's cronies and security apparatus. After the annexation of Crimea their anti-Westernism became a platform for consolidation, argues political scientist Kirill Rogov at the Russia File of the Kennan Institute.

A clear understanding of why and how Russia's monstrous war of aggression against Ukraine, a war destructive for both countries, became possible will require much time and effort. So far, the focus of immediate commentary has invariably been on President Putin, as the outbreak of war is perceived as his personal decision. However, reasoning along the lines of 'we are all the hostages of one man's insanity' is more likely to produce a fictitious answer rather than a genuine one.

Old oligarchs abandoned any ambitions for political change, post Khodorovsky, and went west; new oligarchs also dreamed of golden retirement in western Europe, but that went up in smoke post Crimea; embittered, they doubled down on a bad bet. A coherent picture.

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II}