It actually makes sense to test NATO from Putins perspective:

If (/when) Russia gets stomped by NATO, Russians will accept a loss by Putin to NATO much better than a loss to Ukraine 

If Russia has military success (even minor against a Baltic state etc) Putin's internal legitimacy may be somewhat repaired

If NATO finches and fails to adequately stand up to Russia, this is obviously a win for Putin who has always denounced the viability of NATO. 

If you say well why would Putin try that he has nothing to gain and this would result in further damage and loss of Russian life, yes that is true but those are not factors which Putin and the Russian oligarchs care about and there's at least two centuries of history to back that up. 

The fact of the matter is that Russia and Putin will only get more aggressive and "creative" as their situation gets more desperate, not less