Putin launched the war solely for regime preservation. If he can't win, combining defeat with regime preservation becomes paramount. Losing to a bunch of Ukrainian kholki peasants, as the typical Russian views Ukrainians, is inadmissible for regime preservation. So he has to lose to NATO. Therefore the SMO must mutate into an existential war against the entire West.

"manage to find idiots to lead them": I've always said the most essential difference between Russia and America is this: America is a land of individual idiocy and collective genius. Russia is exactly the reverse.