The west has spent thirty years treating Russia as if they're still our enemy, expanding NATO and continuing to refuse any kind of real economic partnership. NATO has been pushing this brinkmanship via Ukraine for the past decade, and blowing up Ukraine's skirts with the idea that the west would back them against Russia. Ukraine was just a pawn as the lack of support post invasion shows, but now NATO as an organization is revitalized, the military industrial complex has new business, and Europe will possibly stop drifting away from the USA as a result. Also, this cuts off Russia from the EU petro market and means US oil corps get a chance to take up the slack.
Whether this was a strategically good decision I don't know, but I'm sure for Putin thirty years of opposition from the west has proven to him that we will not under any circumstances engage in mutually beneficial deals and will keep sanctioning Russia regardless of what they do. If you're fucked either way you might as well prove to the west that you must be respected and will protect your borders.
The west has spent thirty years treating Russia as if they're still our enemy, expanding NATO and continuing to refuse any kind of real economic partnership. NATO has been pushing this brinkmanship via Ukraine for the past decade, and blowing up Ukraine's skirts with the idea that the west would back them against Russia. Ukraine was just a pawn as the lack of support post invasion shows, but now NATO as an organization is revitalized, the military industrial complex has new business, and Europe will possibly stop drifting away from the USA as a result. Also, this cuts off Russia from the EU petro market and means US oil corps get a chance to take up the slack.
Whether this was a strategically good decision I don't know, but I'm sure for Putin thirty years of opposition from the west has proven to him that we will not under any circumstances engage in mutually beneficial deals and will keep sanctioning Russia regardless of what they do. If you're fucked either way you might as well prove to the west that you must be respected and will protect your borders.