There's no good reason for Putin to do anything which would push Europe away.
Yes there is. He wants to re-restablish the bi-polar relationship in Europe, in the image of the cold war USSR. Not through Communism, but through his semi-Democratic oligarchy. An Eastern democracy.
He is on record rueing the breakup of the USSR. Translations include "Above all, we should acknowledge that the collapse of the Soviet Union was a major geopolitical disaster of the century. As for the Russian nation, it became a genuine drama. Tens of millions of our co-citizens and co-patriots found themselves outside Russian territory. Moreover, the epidemic of disintegration infected Russia itself." Or, "...greateast geopolitical catastrophe of the century."
He and his supporters speak of a 'novorussiya' and Putin had made at least one speech which was revisionist, and revanchist.
He has expressed his disdain for a uni-polar world.
Given a carrot and a stick, he will eat the carrot and proceed to beating people into agreement.
He sees a place for a Russian-centric counterweight to American hegemony.
He doesn't want to push Europe away, but he is glad to push them around, and to collect what he can back into orbit.
