Before all this got kicked off I believe all Russia wanted was a truly neutral Ukraine buffer between them and NATO. NATO wasn't having that and is an avowed enemy of Russia. Russia has a history of trying to stay isolationist but the Germans (and way back when, Napoleon) weren't for having that rich prize sitting over there independent. In reaction to that the USSR set up eastern Europe as a buffer which lasted a good 40+ years. Now the NWO folks know their plan requires Russia to be brought down or China and India can't be controlled. This is a battle for world domination, and now technology can support it. Russia must be destroyed.
The USSR didn't just "set up Eastern Europe as a buffer"; they invaded them and forcibly occupied them under military and political oppression. Eastern Europe did not want it then, and they don't want it now.
Putin does want to recreate the geopolitics of the USSR (though without Communism), he cannot be blamed for his wants, and everybody understands why he would want a buffer after WWI and WWII; but the wants of the former Soviet republics are just as valid as are his. If they don't want to be under Putin's thumb, why should they be?
If Ukraine doesn't want to be subjugated by Putin, why should they be?
If Russia is so great, and Putin is so great, why does Ukraine want no part of it?
In my life, I have found Occam's Razor to be very effective. The simple explanation is usually right. Ukraine simply wants to be left alone, but Putin simply wants to control it for Russia's benefit.
It's not rocket science, it's just human nature. No conspiracies needed, no cabals, no Q, freemasons, just the same territorial ambitions since time immemorial.
Putin wants to rebuild the USSR's geopolitical influence, but the former members don't want to be part of it.
