One thing in your analogy you miss pointing out is . There was no nation called Ukraine. It was all Russian Empire. After revolution Lenin decided to take parts of Novorussia and call it Ukraine Soviet Republic in addition just before WWIi Molotov -Ribbentrop pact divided Poland and USSR annexed part of Poland which they expanded further after WWII win. In 1991 out of the blues Ukraine declared Independence . Now who between Russia and Ukraine is the Robber is upon how you look at the situation.
Once Ukraine declared Independence they refused to pay their share of Debt. Got alot of subsidies from Russia inform of energy supplies , raw materials and bugdet support.
Everyone knows what happened in the Orange revolution when money was poured for people to jam Kiev streets, Everyone know Whay happened in Maidan Revolution when snippers hired by revolution organisers were shooting people and claiming its Yankovich Government security units doing it.
Just ask yourself a simple question why are people Thousands of Miles away really interested in Ukraine and not their neighbouring countries ?
In war there are no winners, just looser. All that matters in the end who has lost the least. Ukrainian had a chance to stop this before the war started but the choose to listen to the comedian...comedian has armed everyone so how to differentiate general public and military????
SO a robber comes to your home attacks you and and family, then you tell your neighbors that the robbers are ok to rob, What kind of reasoning is that??
In things fall apart, Achebe said "you take something and crack their head". If you die, at least you were fighting back.