My armchair thoughts are perhaps this is happening now because Putin knows it's a last chance to do something "big" due to his age, declining demographics in Ru

My armchair thoughts are perhaps this is happening now because Putin knows it's a last chance to do something "big" due to his age, declining demographics in Russia, and/or aging of their nuclear and military arsenal. Or perhaps he's making a bet on abandoning the West to instead be Chinese dependent, and there's something in it for him and his cronies. Seems China would benefit from all this.