Is it our fault? In some respects, yes. We moved NATO east at every opportunity. We knew Ukraine was a red line back in 2011, our own diplomatic cables that came out of Wikileaks said as much. How did we respond? We meddled in a foreign election and ran a color revolution in 2014, the Maidan Revolution. Again, jumping all over the red line we knew existed. Russians respond with annexing Crimea. Then we respond with assisting in the Donbas for what is effectively a civil war against Russian aligned people. Russia responds by invading.
Ukraine has a right to align itself with the west if it chooses. The Donbas wouldn’t have gone along with that plan though.
All of that said, it’s extremely messy, and Russia made the choice to invade or be cucked by us imposing our will against their western border. All of this nonsense about Putin wanting to remake the Soviet Union is nonsense. Putin wants a buffer between his border and the West, period. How are we responding? Bringing in Sweden and Finland to NATO. Russia has basically said don’t do that, we’re doing it. Sweden and Finland are accepting that they’re going to be invaded and they’re telling their people to prepare.
Make no mistake, the agency never really stopped fighting the Cold War, they’re of the mindset that they’re going to bring Russia to heel. They’re willing to sacrifice a lot of people in the process to make sure it happens. Ukraine is not winning and Russia is stronger now economically and militarily than when the invasion happened. Russia isn’t necessarily winning. You know who is? All of big Defense.