Russia wasn't governed by a bunch of easily to bait and inexperienced morons. They saw an opportunity and went for it, no different from their involvement in Belarus or Georgia. And it worked. They took Crimea, started crap in the east, Ukraine's government was weak, etc.

Before 2022, the US even sent the CIA director to Russia to warn them not to go ahead with the full scale invasion[0]. Multiple warnings were made[1]. If it was bait, then it was pretty bad bait or some pretty advanced "4D chess" moves.

I'm not saying that there wasn't any US and EU meddling in Ukraine (alongside Russia's own meddling), but you don't just bait Russia like that.

Regarding your comment, I'm sure you can understand why I raise my eyebrow when I see someone blaming a 3rd party for the war in Ukraine and nothing about the country who actually invaded Ukraine. Russia, not the US, is responsible for Russia's own actions.

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[0] https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/02/politics/cia-director-rus...

[1] https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/02/24/russia-ukr...