Putin IS cornered and has been since April.
His Plan A to quickly take over Kyiv and put in a puppet failed
Plan B to gain the East and all of the southern coastline to Moldova failed in April - with the sinking of the Moskva
Plan C to gain just the Donbas and east failed in July
Plan D to gain just the Donbas is in the process of failing.
He is snubbbed by the leaders of Turkey and Kazakhstan - Kazakhstan.
He has been cornered for some time and his desperation of fake referenda and throwing in conscript bodies reeks of desperation.
His flailing at the “external enemy” won’t work - he needs to consolidate his position at home - so the flailing will be internal, expect more purges