For those that do not know. The US/NATO have known for a VERY long time that Ukraine joining NATO was a red line for both Putin and the Russian people. I'm not saying they have any say or right but that it was something that made them feel under threat is not debatable.

If you dig you can find many broken promises from US/NATO about NATO expansion. Promises to the Russians that NATO would not expand. NATO is a military alliance and its expansion has consequences. The reality is that the US meddled in the affairs of Ukraine and broke promises made to Russia over and over. One could say they were trying to provoke conflict.

This is not to say that the actions of the US/NATO justify anything Putin or Russia has done. That would be absurd. But, it does make sense that they would respond how they have.

My belief is that the US / NATO knew it was highly likely that Putin would attack Ukraine. That Ukraine has no prayer of defeating Russia. This whole conflict seems to me to have two goals.

Putin has good reason to fear NATO and the US. During the fall of the USSR the US actively tried to install a puppet leader in Russia. Based on my research Russians have a very isolationist world view and view the expansion of NATO as a threat to their future existence. As an American I understand why this sounds absurd to most Americans but I've met many people from other nations. Our world views differ greatly. Before we take sides in things and cheer on war we should at least try to understand motivations and history. Relying on "the news" which is propaganda is not only foolish, it is irresponsible.

The reality is that the US war machine (military contractors) need to be fed. They have great power. The incentive to have conflict is clear. When one war spins down another always comes up to replace it. That's kinda weird to me. But when you understand how much money is on the line it makes nothing but sense.