JMO, but I don't think it has to be an either or...both can be true at the same time. He just seems increasingly desperate and willing to look this way if it gets him to achieve his aims that much quicker, whereas in the past, it just seemed as if the image of looking completely self possessed (and blame-free) was just as important as his ability to pour on the aggression. Putin, after all has always regarded himself as being well above the likes of Kadyrov, who he regards as something of a brute. Well, his behavior is much closer than ever to the Chechen despot these days.
As for Xi Jinping, they are allies of convenience, as Xi would love to do to Hong Kong and Taiwan what Putin is currently doing to Ukraine. Mainland China has been trying coercion, ethnic cleansing (Tibet, Xinjiang, in particular), pressure tactics, veiled threats (Taiwan) and trying to claim uninhabited islands in the South China Sea (Japan, South Korea, Philippines, etc.). Xi is no doubt, waiting to see what happens and if he can do a similar maneuver with regions it considers to be part of it's own territory. China considers Taiwan to be a rebellious breakaway republic that they want to bring to heel. Hong Kong has a Sinophile for a Chief Executive, so they have made far more successful strides there. Tibet, well.๐Suffice it to say, Xi is watching what happens in Ukraine with keen interest.