Russia tried to get ukraine to give in to demands of their puppets in the donbas, outside of what the minsk accords called for.
This back and forth just gave the russians time tp gear up as they realuzed at the tome their current land grab wasnt within their capabilities.
Please provide me with a link that confirms what you state. Lot’s of BS runs rampant on both sides of a conflict. Like the Ghost of Kyiv, for example.