I tend to prefer to read documents from think tanks and professors about this conflict, but I'm sure "Sarcasmitron" has a lot to add on top of that.

If you only listen to think tanks and professors that affirm your preconceptions then you're not educating yourself at all. Liberals fall into the same trap of denying genocides when they demand that Noam Chomsky's memoirs be the only relevant framing of geopolitics. It's a nonsense diversion, and you even added a scoop of ad-hominem on top.

With credit to the parent comment, I've seen the linked video and it's both high quality and entertaining. I'd also wager it's more peer-reviewed than whatever primary sources you use, if you think NATO is the villain for offering the protection Russia's neighbors want.