There are a lot of stories from all sides, I'm afraid that someone will make some reckless move and make this an even bigger war, which seems like a real possibility! Putin is not the only one who wants this war, he has surrounded himself with people who support him and who are loyal to him! One man cannot fight alone! As president, he has definitely shown that he is ready to fight with many more opponents if they get involved in this conflict, for everything he says and the decisions he makes, he has the great support of the Russian Duma!
There is no war won neither, sure Russia got into a piece of land right away, but aside from that Ukraine hasn't backed down from the places they said they want to protect. Like, yeah donbas is Russian now, but Kiev could have been gone already if they didn't defend, but they are defending it very well. So, do not imagine Russia "must be up to something" just because they are losing, they are losing because they are idiots and Russian soldiers are not quite too happy or hyped enough to attack neither.