Ukraine

This would ultimately end up a politically driven discussion if explained fully, but the simple answer is whether the Russians were baited or not, the Russians invaded Ukraine. The Russians have zero excuse for putting themselves in the position they're in now.
Discussing the history of the region is less political than a lot of what is already in this thread.

While I agree Russia is responsible for their own actions, if NATO and the US have consistently made agreements and violated them, we do bear some responsibility for what is occurring now