Nonsense. No one forced Russia and Putin to do anything. They CHOSE. Trying to make excuses for such blatant aggressive violence indicates you know it is wrong. No one was being bombed pre-2014. That was the year Russia decided to send unmarked troops, and massive amounts of heavy arms to create a separatist army that violently seized parts of eastern and southern Ukraine to achieve Russian aims, they don't care about the people. Of course the armed forces of Ukraine tried to take back their own sovereign territory, all the deaths on both sides are 100% on Russia. Could you imagine if a foreign power did that within Russia, be honest. NATO bases are not "around Moscow" and Russia does not have the right to start killing children in Ukraine because other powers have bases in the world. One country turned to violence, one, Russia. This is the basic fact, there is no excuse.