He does have a need. He needs those minerals. He also needs a broader border through which to absorb Eastern Europe.
Yes, he's got a need, but a broader border to Europe it is not.
This is a talk called "The Russian Grab" I often pull out from 2017, where Peter Zeihan back then explained
a) how the USSR managed the defense of their vast size and where,
b) that while Russia is smaller, the overall situation remains and method remains unchanged, but Russia only was able to close some of the 9 gaps the USSR could,
c) that Russia is an aging society, and starting with 2022 the amounts of young men able to serve will drastically decrease,
d) that Russia considers itself a country on the brink of fading away, being in its last generation and being attacked in the near to mid future, which has the idea though that if they could control all gaps again they could last much, much longer.
So back then he identified the land border with Ukraine as one of the biggest issues Russia had with securing its borders, and if Russia wants to do something they would need to do it until 2022 because of its demographics.
Sadly this aged too well.
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