Survival of his regime, as best I can tell. When a reasonably functional democracy (Ukraine) abuts an autocracy (Russia), the democracy starts to make the autoc

Survival of his regime, as best I can tell. When a reasonably functional democracy (Ukraine) abuts an autocracy (Russia), the democracy starts to make the autocracy look bad in the eyes of those living in it, threatening the autocrat's power. Putin seems to have over-estimated the risk (paranoia perhaps), but this seems to be a typical dynamic which is also playing out between China and Taiwan.