from 21st Century Wire:

Since the beginning of the first military phase of the Ukrainian crisis in 2014, Kiev has been actively supported by the United States and its allies. The West’s strategy in the structural confrontation with Russia is aimed at inflicting a defeat on our country without getting directly involved in the conflict. The scenario of hybrid confrontation is not new for Washington. In the Middle East it uses hybrid tools against Iran; to oppose China it utilizes Taiwan and its other partners in the region – the Philippines, South Korea, Japan. In confronting Moscow, the US and its allies in Western Europe have also found a convenient instrument – Ukraine, a large state in close proximity to Russia with a large army. Western countries supply this instrument with arms and intelligence and send military advisers and trainers.