This morning I asked someone why Russia invaded Ukraine, and he replied, 'because Putin is a madman.' That is the same answer I heard years ago when we bombed Libya and killed Col. Gaddafi. Back then, the media called him 'mad dog Gaddafi.' When we go to war, we don't need a reason; we just declare the opponent to be mad.
I've asked several people about the causes of the current strife, and not one has any idea. They all just quote the Pootin defence (ie, he's nuts). When primary public broadcasters run news banners 24/7 titled "The lastest on Russia's invasion of Ukraine", is it any surprise? People are basically told to view it as a random act of insanity/evil, and not to think about it beyond that.