Russia has more than just a a few natural resources. Russia is the #2 LNG producer in the world. They are #2 fertilizer producer in the world. Russia is (IIRC) the #3 oil producer in the world. Every single country on the planet needs food and energy. Top 5 in lithium reserves. #2 in Cobalt. Without listing all the rest: Russia has 12 million tons of rare earth minerals, the 4th largest reserves in the world. The US, by comparison, has 1.4m tons. That is why sanctions against Russia are not going to work. Every country in the world needs something that Russia has in abundance.
Every country includes the US, either directly or indirectly, because they have the natural resources and we don't.
Russia did NOT start this war. The civil war has been going on since the 2014 western backed coup that ousted the democratically elected President Yanukovych, and undemocratically placed Yatsenyuk in his stead. Yatsenyuk was not elected. Victoria Nuland on leaked audio specifically picked him (and others) to take over Ukraine after the coup.
Russia was asked by the UN recognized government of Syria to assist them in their civil war. A civil war that the US fomented. The CIA spent $13 billion dollars trying to overthrow Asaad. It was (to date) the most expensive operation in CIA history (Timber Sycamore).
I fundamentally reject the idea that Europe's thinking was short term. The entire purpose of the EU was to replace war with commerce. Particularly between France and Germany, who had been waring on the continent for centuries, with England, Austria and Italy joining in the fun. The butter instead of guns plan was working out great for Europe (see Airbus for example) - and Russia was a part of this solution. THAT was the problem for the US.
Europe was transitioning to green through Russian gas. Going from coal to gas to renewables USED to be cool in the US. But it was a problem for the US in the EU starting as far back as 2014 (IIRC - C. Rice) understood that peace in Europe and economic binds between the EU and Russia meant there was no need for more NATO expansion. No need for EU countries to spend 2% of their GDP buying US weapons when Russia is a partner instead of an enemy. Note this doesn't apply to Poland and the Baltic states. The enmity there will take generations to get over.
So what does the US do? Progressively encircle Russia, overthrow (Yugoslavia) or try to overthrow her allies (Syria, Iran, etc.) and partners - including Ukraine. Ukraine had AND STILL HAS business with Russia. Ukraine made a fortune piping gas to Europe from Russia. When that wasn't enough, the US overthrew the 2004 election in Ukraine. That still wasn't enough, so they got Georgia to attack Russia in 2008, then backed a coup in Ukraine in 2014, then worked to keep the civil war going and turn Ukraine into a proxy NATO state.
Europe wanted peace. Russia wanted peace. The US wanted war, and did a masterful job boxing Russia into a situation where they felt they couldn't afford to wait any longer for the war the US was planning on them.
Those are all facts. You can speculate that at some date Russia was going to "turn on Europe" and invade. That is speculation and the question is, why would they invade and destroy their customer base. Russia was - and is - getting rich off selling us (Europe) gas and oil. The fantasy that Putin was trying to recreate the USSR is just that - a fantasy - created to justify the continued US occupation of Europe and ever increasing military spending in both the EU and the US.
We want peace here. The US wants war. It is not Russia or China encircling the world with military bases. It is the US.
