Besides, tyrants like Putin love taking the easy way out when they're held accountable for their crimes, so I wouldn't be surprised if he himself would prefer death over life in prison.
Kind of reminds me of Abimael Guzmán, the leader of the Shining Path in Peru and probably one of the most evil people to ever live. But instead of some dramatic battlefield death he instead rotted away in a third world prison for almost 30 years and then died in 2021 as a feeble old man. Seems kind of a more punishing fate.