Ukraine, supported and encouraged by Biden, was the problem and wouldn’t let the Donbas leave (they had voted to do so).
Personally, I think this was all because Dementia Joe and his advisers thought it would make him look like a macho wartime president. It didn’t matter how many Ukrainians or Russians died in the attempt to shore up Biden’s aged..well, you know.
Same here. He remembered all the “cool” presidents, like his boss, got a War of some sort. Due to Trump that wasn’t gonna happen on it’s own so his advisors made sure he would egg it on.
It was probably also a attempt to prop up his approval rantings. Hover, the WH is totally inept and it backfired.
For as long as I have been aware of Biden, he has been bizarrely obsessed with portraying himself as a tough guy, so I believe that you are right about that being one of the factors.