Beau already explained this war.
Rumor has it that Putin's intel division dedicated to foreign countries, took a LOT of money to "buy" militias in Ukraine that were supposed to be loyal to Russia. Thus the opening three day blitz of this war. The air drops into Kyiv. They were supposed to be met with friendlies. They were not. Because no such forces existed. Because Putin's intel agency pocketed the millions (billions?) instead of spending it to buy Ukraine. Putin's advisors convinced him it'd be another 2014. Just walk in, shoot some people and plant your flag. Turns out, if these rumors are true, many top Russians betrayed Putin through corruption and looting - leading to this war based on lies and false assumptions.
Sure, his motive might have been to conclude 2014's conflict.
But the instigator appears to be sniffing his own !@$$ and not knowing reality from delusion.