The purpose of the Kursk offensive in my opinion was a shit test to see what Russia would do once a NATO ground army invades their territory. The fact that Russia hasn't brutally crushed the invaders, executed foreign mercenaries live on TV, and sculpted marble statues of the grisly scenes and turn the site into a national monument makes them look weak. Now NATO believes Russia has no red line, and you can expect them to escalate even further by launching missiles directly at Moscow. Would Russia respond with nukes? Maybe. Probably even. But NATO doesn't believe it anymore. They think Putin is bluffing. The only thing these people respect is overt displays of violent domination. Playing it slow, while yes it is strategically sound, it does nothing but encourage NATO to keep escalating.
It's either WWIII or Putin surrenders. If Putin surrenders, Russia will be a balkanized collection of slave states, and then China and all others who oppose them are next. Then we'll have global cradle to grave slavery until the sun goes dark. I don't know about any of you, but I would much prefer nukes to that. At least there will be something in the future that isn't technological super-tyranny. Putin could save the world if he wasn't such a fucking pussy.