Putin is in a tough pickle

This was spotted on Quora Digest:

“Why doesn’t Russia simply invade Ukraine on a massive scale as in World War II and crush Ukraine in one Titanic campaign?

“Putin is in a tough pickle. Technically, he cannot declare war on Ukraine to use the entire might of the Russian military. There is something about Russian laws and the people possibly going into revolution mode. It’s a bit weird, so he has been using his powers to conduct this never-ending three-day special military operation.” (22) Quora 

This is a congruent conflation of “a tough spot” and “in a pickle”, both meaning to be in a difficult situation. The contributor said he looked up Russian and Ukrainian pickles, and they didn’t seem to be any tougher than other dill pickles. Good to know! Speaking of the contributor, a big thank you to frequent contributor Barry Eigen for spotting this gem.