There's nothing to suggest Putin has dreams of empire. There's a whole lot to suggest that this is about broken promises of NATO expansion and particularly about Ukraine. Putin said it himself, many times, he was very clear about Ukraine being the red line.I'd argue that the war was about Putin's dreams of empire.
Same way trump wants to invade Greenland, Panama and Canada.
Ukraine being a member of NATO was never a threat to Putin, only a threat to his ability to occupy and colonize Ukraine.
Russia has nuclear weapons, nothing else. War and empire requires tons of money, economic power is paramount.
Russia is still crawling out of the hole they were in after the Soviet breakup, everyone can do the math, especially Putin.
Saying this war is about empire is akin to saying Israel's destruction of Gaza is about October 7. It's a convenient excuse for the West to gaslight their opponents.