Not sure where you get your information from, watch MSNBC much? Yes Putin is a despot, however. If I was faced with the same set of circumstances I would have done the same thing as Putin.
Let's do a little thought experiment. If China ran a coup in Mexico helping install a Pro China puppet in 2014, flooded Mexico with heavy Chinese weapons, trained cartels to on how to defeat our military, and they killed fifteen thousand Expat Americans living in Mexico. Oh yes, and filled Mexico with Biolabs, and Soros run NGO's, sure as fuck I would as President of the country call on a special operation to rid Mexico of all of the above. Added bonus, there's valuable assets like natural energy there, then I would take that while I was at it.
The war in Ukraine is mostly to blame on Neo Con, and Neo Liberal war mongers looking to expand their power, as well they still falsely blame Putin for Trump being elected in 2016, which by all measures has made Putin enemy number two on the Globalist/Nato hit list. Can you name all of the violations that Nato has doubled back on from the 1997 Nato/Russia accords, I bet not, how about another fucking Cold War, while we are at it? But wait, now we got a real live hot war, awesome right!
Basically your reasoning is every single vapid MSM narrative being spun forth since the beginning of the war. Like this one "oh Putin is a mad man, he's lost his mind!" or "Putin has locked himself in his house and only talks to people on the phone." Do yourself a little favor and read some Prof Mesheimer, then get back to us. I am not saying it's not a tragedy, it's fucking terrible, but it's been perpetuated by the UK, our country, and mostly Obama's cronies at the State Department, Victoria Neuland, Anthony Blinken, and other such deep state creeps.
It's astounding what an effective job the media has done at brainwashing the masses, just amazing really.