Here is where we will likely have serious disagreements lol
I understand the prevailing view is that Putin is trying to steal the Donbas, but from the perspective of the people there, he has actually been incredibly reluctant to do anything about them getting tortured and bombed. The Maidan coup has been forensically deconstructed even using facts from the case within Ukraine there was a false flag shooting by the far right Bandera linked organization that has involvement with US intelligence services going back to WWII to put it in broad strokes. Even the far right Polish parties are averse to them over them massacring Polish people with the Nazis. I digress. Lindsay Graham and Amy Klobuchar and John McCain put it better than I can lol this is search banned on Youtube iirc so ur welcome 😎😎
Putin’s motivation was to come to his fucking senses after everyone in the regions later to become LPR and DPR (especially the communists) fought a civil war (much of the army defected after the Maidan coup)