@thor I think all of this is just bullshit for the general public. Putin has a mentality of a middle hand criminal boss — he's all about tactics and no strategy. He does everything to stay in power, that's it. If it involves telling people what they want to hear, he does just that. NATO fearmongering is a soviet-era thing, but it still has impact on people. A lot believed that annexation of Crimea was necessary, despite the Black Sea fleet being sitting ducks for Turkey — a NATO country.
@thor Putin might have actually wanted some sanctions imposed on Russia because they justify the economic collapse, but he didn't want European countries to stop buying gas. He didn't foresee that. Now he's in a stalemate, he can only double down on everything. He stops the gas pipeline trying to still use that as a leverage. He can't withdraw troops, it will look like a defeat and it will make him look weak, he can only send more.
@thor I think he wants the EU to accept the loss of some territories by the Ukraine so it looks like a victory for him, but Ukrainians (and the US) don't want that.