There are multiple possible reasons for Putin doing it: Show any opposition in his ranks that reverting to old relations with Europe won't be possible, so eith

There are multiple possible reasons for Putin doing it: Show any opposition in his ranks that reverting to old relations with Europe won't be possible, so either go with the program or lose it all. Show Europe what could happen to other critical infrastructure if they continue to support Ukraine. The attack on German rail communication shortly after could be related to this. Try to sow distrust between Europe and the U.S. as a hail marry attempt. We don't know what kind of back-channel communication is going on, so this one may be a mystery for some time.