as horrifying as this war has been in its very early days, particularly for civilians in ukraine right now - it's largely an idealogical one. i get that he feels threatened, economically and also militarily if ukraine were to join nato. but i don't really think this is what it's about, ultimately.
it's clear putin doesn't give a fuck about civilians and his communication to russians is pure propaganda at its worst.
that propaganda wouldn't be necessary from putins standpoint if the threat from ukraine was mostly economic and military (and would probably be viewed as justified in some sense) rather than idealogical. so that's why he needs the messaging to the russian general public, the lies and distortion.
he can't just say "you know what, fuck everyone else" and have the general population jump on board.
he want's that, though.
but it's pretty clear to those outside of russia (and a chunk within), that "fuck everyone else" mindset is abhorrent. so he tries to justify it in whatever way he thinks will bring him more support.
ukraine is in the crosshairs, but it's really a war on the west, just as putin said our collective support of ukraine and sanctions was effectively also a declaration of war.
i think this is escalating, even if their invasion has been underachieving thus far.
it's very dangerous - but clearly, this is about much more than ukraine.