NATO's eastward expansion should have stopped where the US promised it would. But, of course, the US kept luring more and more countries around Russia to join NATO, unnecessarily causing a crisis.
To justify these retarded moves, the US had to paint Russia as some kind of villainous monster dying to invade Europe. Russia just wants to be secure and develop, like pretty much any other country, while controlling its neighborhood. By provoking Russia incessantly, the US has brought things to a stage where Putin really doesn't have many options than to play hardball.
The biggest tragedy is that this history is hardly ever mentioned by anybody in the West - from commentators and academics to politicians and generals. Just amazing. Their history starts a few years ago - as if their NATO expansion isn't a part of the problem. Not to mention the regime change they pulled in Ukraine to bring it into its own orbit. You can't do stuff like that and not expect a response.
The US should focus all this energy inward to solve hunger, homelessness, universal healthcare, and other issues. Some of the issues plaguing the US internally are honestly mind-boggling given the trillions it wastes on far-away chess moves.