Putin is hoping for this. If Nato takes the bait, his propaganda machine will use this as justification for his war in Ukraine. They are hoping this will improve recruitment of solders without having to keep increasing their salaries which is a massive drain on their financial resources. Even more so since Ukraine is targeting their biggest source of income. The narrative so far, that Russia is at war against Nato/West can be falsified by the average Russian who is considering joining forces. Once one of their asset is targeted outside Ukraine by Nato, this will change this picture. Another reason is changing the perception of foreign audiences: increase the west population that since Russia is a threat to them in their own country this will increase their reluctance to further support Ukraine in favour of their local defences. However, this seemed to backfire so far as some countries have resolved to increase their spending for Ukraine. Also: it’s flamingo time soon, not a rosy prospect for Putin vis-a-vis maintenance of their current fuel processing infrastructure.

Sounds like a real Czech mate, I like the way he thinks.