A friend just wrote this to me: unfortunately it's probably true, more or less

The missing player in this is the EU , despite having no military force of its own it fomented the Maidan Square revolt. Von Der Leyen is still saying Ukraine belongs to us , whoever us is. 

Had Putin had toppled the Ukrainian Government in a three day blitzkrieg , the west would have acquiesced. The Russian Army failed and met stiff resistance from the Ukraine. This is now a potentially a four year war of attrition over who controls the Donbas basin oil and gas.