At this point it is another sad chapter in a senseless war of the elites and it makes no difference. The Ukrainians are shelling civilians, Russia is shelling civilians, and Lindsey Graham is waving pompoms. I am not happy about any of that.
The animosity will last for generations on both sides making future conflicts in the region more likely - especially if the most corrupt nation on Earth joins NATO. Let that sink in, the Ukrainian leadership (assuming they prevail or survive) will have the ability to draw us into the next conflict with Russia.
Before it is over I bet my kids will be on the hook for about 400 billion or more and only pennies on the dollar will even reach the Ukrainian people by the time our politicians and theirs are finished.
Putin started this war with a cowardly sneak attack in 2014 (”Little Green Men”) and followed it up with yet another cowardly sneak attack last year (”just an exercise”).
This is mostly concerned with Putin wanting control of the oil and gas resources that Ukraine was beginning to explore.
In any case, the war is going poorly for Putin. It’s dragged on for over a year, the promises of Chinese and North Korean troops to help him out have never materialized, and Ukraine is building a military while Russia is degrading theirs.
Not to mention the fact that Ukraine now occupies Russian soil and is steadily advancing on Belgorod.
As to the cost of ensuring the sovereignty of Ukraine it is far cheaper than the cost of waging a second Cold War against a resurgent Soviet or Imperial Russia.