The thought occurred to me that Putin wanting to secure the Zaporizhzhia nuke plant was, aside from capturing vital infrastructure - a legit war aim - he could also use it to indulge in some outright cartoon supervillainy. If Russia is forced out of Ukraine, he could threaten to destroy the plant’s reactors and render Europe uninhabitable for god only knows how long. A mega-Chernobyl, if you will.

Of course, Russia would be hit by this as well. But I’m thinking more and more that Putin is locked in to a Götterdämmerung mentality; that if he - personally - (and therefore, in his thinking, Russia) can’t have Ukraine, then it’s better that he take all of Europe down with him.