My point stands. The US recognized Kosovo’s independence. Russia does not recognize South Ossetia’s nor Abkhazia’s independence nor will they because they want these territories to be Russian territories, not independent nations. Therefore, Russia has no moral justification for their actions. They are not supporting an ally’s independence, they are waging a war of conquest against their neighbor.
No they do recognize their independence at least tacitly with the full expectation that the new independent states will be pro-Russian. Having independent states as Russian allies is not an oxymoron despite what some might think. That doesn’t preclude those new states from having ties with the west it only assures that Russia achieves its goal of having pro-Russian neighbor states.
They want to destroy the countries oil delivery capability, and force the contracts to go to GazProm.
It’s always about the money.