<p>I think noone knows the real answer because noone can look in vlads head.</p><p><br></p><p>One interesting thing is that oil &amp; gas fields where discovered in the black sea, on the southern coast and on crimea. More supply would definetely hurt russias economy. And maybe putin did not anticipate the sanctions that are hurting russias economy way more (with people like tucker carlson or marine le pen in the west there was good reason to believe that the west would have been shock-frozen).</p><p><br></p><p>Another thing is that putins popularity was sinking. A war to rally behind one man sounds like a plan in theory.</p><p><br></p><p>A third thing to mention: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Plain" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Plain</a> The further the border is west the smaller the european plain that needs to be defended for putin.</p>

<p>Putin began the war by claiming Russia's neighbour needed to be demilitarised and de-nazified, which is a baseless pretext and The reasons behind Russia's actions in Ukraine are not entirely clear, and there are various perspectives and theories. Some experts suggest that Russia's actions are driven by a desire to assert its influence in the region, protect ethnic Russians and Russian-speaking populations in Ukraine, and prevent Ukraine from moving closer to the West.</p><p>Others argue that Russia's actions in Ukraine are part of a broader strategy to challenge the international order, weaken Western institutions, and promote its own interests in the region. There are also economic and geopolitical motivations, such as control over energy resources, strategic military positions</p>