I think that he wants to refight WWII where Russia came out the mighty victor. However, the game he is playing is dangerous as hell and could lead to MAD without him being able to stop it. Putin thinks that the weakened Democracies will roll over and accept his current and future plans. He may have made the fatal mistake of underestimating his enemies. He is rolling the dice with the species at stake. That is why he needs to be tied to one.