I do not believe Putin's goal was or is to occupy. He wants a compliant Ukraine ruled by people loyal to him like it was before the Orange Revolution that overthrew the Putin stooge government and put Ukraine on a democratic path.
Looking at the reported incursions by Russia, they had three goals: capture the main infrastructure i.e. ports, airports, power plants etc., seize the capital and overthrow the Zelenskyy government.
Democracy is the real enemy here and always has been in his mind. Russia, along with China and to some extent India who plays both sides, have been working to make a compelling case that the twin pillars of the world order, Democracy & Capitalism are failed systems and that totalitarian autocracy and state run economies are a better solution for modern nations of the 21st century.
The West is pretty united against these lies although this invasion of Ukraine has caused them to close ranks and paper over real differences that do exist. Europe understands better than the U.S. IMO the dire consequences of a world led by China and Russia.
Unfortunately, there are right wing forces in the U.S and Europe that want what they believe Putin and Xi have i.e. a unified, homogenous, culturally pure nation where the "others" are subjugated and their position secured. Whether it be Trump, Le Pen, Farage, Orban or some other cretin yet to crawl out from under a rock, they all admire the Chinese and Russian models and desire to replicate it for themselves.
The propagandist right wing medias in each country fuel this narrative as we're seeing right now with Fox News, OAN et al. fawning over Putin and repeating his talking points just like they have done for years now.
What Romney said yesterday exposes the mendacious and cynical lies all of this crap is built on - they believe in nothing, they build nothing, all they want to do is tear the world apart and watch it burn so they can take advantage of the chaos and secure power, money etc. for themselves and their cronies. Despicable.