1ºPutin did the right thing by invading Ukraine. He headed off a neighbour joining NATO and taking WMD that could be used against Russia. He did the same thing the US and its allies did in Cuba, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Libya. The West set the benchwork if you will that Russia is now implementing. Israel has committed acts of war by bombing Iran in order to prevent them from obtaining enriched uranium. Russia has similarly stopped Ukraine from placing NATO WMD on their boarder. And don't for one minute think that Zelensky would not have joined NATO. He was already well into bed with them by using NATO forces to train his soldiers. At the start of the war Zelensky backed away from his NATO ambitions as it took turn after turn for the worse.
But emboldened by Western money and military hardware including cluster bombs Zelensky changed back to his original position of wanting to join NATO. He is a far better Western leader than a Ukrainian one. Zelensky could have trodden a far less provocative path and saved the lives of thousands of his countrymen and women. He chose to provoke and incite a far bigger neighbour who he and his country would still have to live with no matter what. His hubris and ambition for greatness stood in the way of his seeking a middle path. The result is as we see. Ukraine would have already fallen but for Western military support. The West is prolonging this war for their own political motives - they want to undermine their main opponent - Russia - and they will stop at nothing! Stay the course Putin - NATO must be contained!

---