This is going to shock some people, but Putin is not a mass murderer.

Unlike NATO which destroyed every critical infrastructure (energy, water etc.) during the invasion of Iraq and Libya and condemned millions to death and destruction, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has shown magnitudes of order of restraint, repeatedly, even to the detriment of its own military campaign (of course, there is also a propaganda component at play here).

In fact, Russia only steps up its strikes on energy infrastructure as responses in kind, when their opponents first had initiated a provocation. This also happens on the economic front, where their sanctions on gas delivery was made in response to the Europeans violating the contractual agreements first. This is why you’d never see a lawsuit against Russia turning off the gas flow where the court ruling favors the European party.

Russia wants to punish NATO, but not the European people, just like it wants to punish the Banderite Nazis, not the Ukrainian people.

Collapsing Europe also wouldn’t end the war, it would create a chaotic and disastrous political situation right next to its border in ways that nobody could predict (nobody wants to plunge the world into another world war again).

Remember, Putin is a soft-hearted lib and has demonstrated this trait again and again, over decades. The US wants Russia to be the bad guy so they can probably justify nuking Russia or something, but Putin is not that person.