[Karl Spooner]

It's not necessary, and they want Diplomatic solutions.

They tried that since 2014. All they got was lies from the US and the EU. In that respect, Putin has admitted he was a fool for believing them. It all could have been avoided with a litle honestly, something the West does not have. For instance:

"She (Merkel) admitted the Minsk agreements were an "attempt to give Ukraine time" and that Kiev had used it "to become stronger."

[Chad C. Mulligan]

“They tried that since 2014.”

Yeah, those “green men” all decked out in full battle rattle that descended on Crimea in the middle of the night were just “diplomats”.

[Navy Patriot]

You are correct regarding incidents and motivations in the run up to the Ukraine War, however the Russian Federation is still a very bureaucratic entity, and they do discuss and argue a lot while being slow to act and significantly change policy and methods.

Most of Putin's time and speeches are actually reports to various bureaucracies he is required to report to.

Western Media has mislabeled Putin's reports to various bureaucracies and legislative bodies as "Speeches" unilaterally advocating policy when they are reports discussing policy.

Putin does request legislation and policy changes, however he's not guaranteed to get them, and he is required to discuss them with the relevant bureaucracy.

This bureaucracy is powerful, is not going away, and neither is the Russian Federation equivalent of State Department.

That's why Russia uses Diplomacy and Bureaucratic management so much.

And it probably hurts them some.