Quote from opinion piece re: whether Putin is a rational actor:

“It is a mistake to assume that a nonsensible opponent necessarily suffers from some diagnosable psychopathology. Autocratic rulers like Putin and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un have incentives so different from those of an ordinary person as to warp their “rational” goals. They tend to conflate the continuation of their rule with their personal survival, with good reason. Perpetuating their own rule at any cost or risk of nuclear war is insensible to everyone else, but rational for them.

Therefore, while Putin's apocalyptic rhetoric might be alarming, it is not necessarily a symptom of a deranged mind.”

I’ll comment more later.