I'm not interested in another covid style ping pong debate especially with a couple of the Covid protagonists. ALthough in their style they will ping back. However on this post this is the end of my comments.
The view that some propose that Ukraine brought it on themselves, either as part of a chain of events and/or as part of the West's geo-political blunders is a point of view..
What I would point out is, as someone who has followed politics in quite a bit of detail for at least the last 30 years AND being born of both Ukraininan and Estonian descent are the following observations.
What has happened since the fall of the USSR is that each physically west facing ex USSR state and each USSR former satellite state, has of their own accord wanted to embrace almost all western geo/eco political entities be that NATO, EU, EASA etc.
Why?
All these states had been under USSR control for at least 45 years, some over 80 years. None of these states wanted to embrace a political system that echoed the Soviet system.
All these nation states have their own, unique heritage and cultures. For example the three little Baltic states, Lativa, Lithunania and Estonia from a UK perspective look like 3 counties, they are as different as Wales, Scotland and Ireland..actually more so especially in language.
The concept of a greater Russian empire fills all of these nation states with dread.
They all know that only by being in collective military /eco collectives do they have any chance of holding of the Russian Bear.
It is true that in response to these 'occupations' the swing to restoring their national identities has been zealous and some would argue over zealous.
You thereby come to the chicken and the egg.
Stalin used social engineering on a grand scale to forcibly move huge numbers of people from one state to another, especially Russians, the idea being that uprisings would be more difficult with a dilution of national identity.
So in every ex USSR state there is a considerable number of Russians.
Its true that policies from these new goverments have at times been assertive, emphasising the national language as an example or insisting on only passport, no dual nationals.
The issue that all these states realised, well before Putin and now exploited by Putin was that Russia has long asserted that wherever there are Russians they can use any means that they deem fit to 'protect them'
So we saw in Georgia this being used in 2008, it was only when Bush said that he would use cruise missiles against Russian troops that a hasty setllement was reached, Russia having annexed xome lands from Georgia.
In terms of Putin and his modus operandi
Lets covertly support any local agitators, grievenances valid or not.
When the nation state 'suppresses' these people, then escalate by more covert operations including false flag, then send Russain troops in etc
To come back to is Putin 'mad'
He was a sociopath, he's now a psychopath with a narcissic view of himself as part of the Russian state..he is the state and the state is him.
That's someone with mental issues. Witness his deliberate release of a large dog with Angela Merkel who had issues stemming from childhood, his satisfaction in operations in Syria, Checyna, Georgia, the number of actual and attempted assassinations of anyone who even ridiculed him, without posing any direct threat.