You’re not aware of the Maiden Uprising then?
This is at the heart of the current dispute. Arguably, the change in the political culture brought about by that led to the Crimean invasion and then, in 2019, the changing of the constitution to include NATO membership. The country's divisions were clear in 2010, and these groups had different aspirations about the future. The Western side wants to go West, and the East were happy to remain in Russia's orbit. But changes in language laws and the NATO membership clause in the constitution were a step too far for Russia.
Putin is wearing rose colored glasses moulded by a view of history that implies that previous Russian dominance permits present Russian dominance. He makes it sound more serious and scholarly and even throws in a few references to the Russian Orthodox church to boost his moral credentials, but in essence, he is trying to rebuild the old USSR/Russian Empire. He wants the Carpathians and the Baltic as his boundaries with the West. That is utterly unreal, and the target nations will resist that. It is for this reason that his demilitarization of Ukraine aspiration is unrealistic. Ukraine will need security guarantees fitted into the peace agreement.
The difference with Ukraine is that, in essence, they divided themselves before Russia did, with the extremity of the partisan maneuverings/the extent of the corruption in the country/cultural preferences. If they want peace, they will have to sacrifice land, and that will involve at least a part of the Donbas and the Crimea. At the same time this division of the country should be seen as a liberation and an end to the divisive wounds that have plagued the country since 2004. The borders must be solidified by peace, not left as an open question.
The great tragedy here is that for all the talk of peace it remains a miilion miles away. I do not see this war ending until the tide turns on the battlefield. This means hundreds of thousands more lives. It means that Europe needs to be capable of fighting a conventional land war with Russia, that Russia needs to be given a bloody nose, and start losing territory.
