Harper’s has a great essay detailing the real reasons behind the present Ukraine war. It is very good and balanced. In essence, the War is NATO’s attempt to contain, if not deconstruct Russia. The Ukraine may not become a member of NATO just yet, but it does not matter much since the Ukraine is a pawn in the game. At the end of the cold War, Russia had the expectation that NATO would be dissolved as the Warsaw Pact was. But since 1999 three former Warsaw pact countries were added to NATO, and in 2004, another three. Then five more. Russia is right to feel that they are being surrounded; we would too, as we are talking about a nuclear umbrella that could come unfolded at any time, the more fools holding the umbrellas.
The Ukraine has come to be a line drawn in the sand, where Russia has made a commitment to fight to the end. The rest will be history, written by those who survive what is to inevitably come.