Putin is old KGB. He believes the more intelligence he has about the USA the more confident he is about defeating NATO and the USA. Well. If Syria is a precursor to the truth; so far it is the USA 0, Russia 200. Losses. Soldier losses.

It all comes down to the fighting force, the will and the ability of generals to turn a burgeoning loss into a victory. I think NATO knows it's odds.

The relationship between China and Russia is interesting. China is less motivated to carry out a war, although it's struggling modern economy may be an interesting reason to join Russia in combat. China is more interested in it's Superpower status. China also has incredibly good infrastructure. Beautiful actually. I believe China is more amenable to diplomacy than Russia.