I never failed to realize that Russia's strategic position is 'in very real danger' right now. Although rather than the threat coming from US hegemony, it is their government which is riddled with corruption, their economy suffering from massive human capital flight, and their dwindling population due to living standards/medical care/lifestyle - all of this before the Russian war on Ukraine started.
Trying to seize a 300 mile wide stretch of land from one's neighbor does not solve any of these problems, only creates many more - while exacerbating these original problems even further.
A Democratic, politically stable, and economically successful Ukraine does not create an existential threat, nor a NATO threat, to Russia. The real issue is it creates a threat to Putin's stagnated militarized dictatorship.
Ukraine's independence will never be preserved by creating Russian protectorates in it via Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia's long term
goal is submission - which is why even neutrality would be at best, a temporary ploy.
One cannot justify the Russian war on Ukraine via an endless supply of red herrings, whether those are state-supplied (Ukraine has Nazis) or childish talking points such as those in this thread (topics like Joe Biden's son and other transparent deflections).
It is not Russia that has no choice but to win - but Putin.