Russia as a great power was, is, and always will be a very interested party in Ukrainian affairs, as the two countries are neighbors and deeply interconnected, having, at least until recently, deep historical, cultural, economic, military-industrial, and political ties. Russia’s post-Soviet involvement in all these ways in Ukraine was a matter of necessity, not one of choice. NATO’s decision and efforts to expand NATO to Ukraine over the last thirty years marked an ‚involvement of choice‘ pursuing the maximization of U.S. global power – the luxury of a powerful military alliance led by the world’s lone superpower at the time.

https://gordonhahn.com/2024/12/15/the-ukrainian-black-hole-gathers-the-storm-of-world-war-iii/

 

Quite long with a bleak ending!