While Putin is obviously is the driving force behind it, it's also important to remember that it's not like he's surrounded by democratic doves who would immediately deescalate if they were to take over.
I disagree with and think it's cheap to somehow blame NATO for all this, which is obviously untrue. But I also think it's easy to underestimate just how confused and traumatized the Russian nation has been since the early 90s. We simply don't see eye to eye on modern geopolitical history. I genuinely don't think the kind of politician we in the West would like can succeed in Russia today. The only demographic who might be symathetic to this are the youngest milennials/oldest generation Z, while the rest of society to some extent share Putin's view of how Russia is basically threatened from all sides.
Obviously this doesn't mean that we can't confront and contain Russias expansionism, but I really don't think it's adviseable to enter a game of chicken with a country we (the 'west', or whatever we want to call it) barely seem to understand, like
@frostbite seems keen on. That's not to pick on you or anyone else who feels the same, but Russia really is a very strange place...