Good essay. It'll draw you a bunch of flak, but that's what the forum is about, so no sweat on that account. I largely agree with your assessment -- we shouldn't be backing either side, it's not our circus, and not our monkeys -- with one glaring exception.
Ukraine is completely corrupt. Think back a couple years, and we all knew that the Bidens and a host of other corrupt US politicians and oligarchs had and still have their fingers deep in Ukrainian pies.
Meaning that there are powerful US interests tied up in Ukraine, thereby making it somewhat our circus and monkeys, against our will. It's a steaming mess.
I work with some software contractors based in western parts of Ukraine, and they're outstanding technical people, and rather nice to work with. They're pretty freaked out about all this, planning to pick up and run like hell if the fighting moves much farther west; or alternatively, lay down their laptops and pick up a rifle. I don't envy their position.
[Ukraine is completely corrupt. ]