Destroying Eastern Ukraine to Save It

I speak of peace, therefore, as the necessary rational end of rational men.
~PresidentJohn F. Kennedy, American University, June 10, 1963
Following an essay I published earlier this month and the letter the Eisenhower Media Network ran in The New York Times in May, I have heard forceful and passionate protests that Russia had no other option but to invade Ukraine in February 2022. Frankly, I find quite bewildering and concerning this intense insistence that the only option available to Russia was to launch a cross-border invasion, conduct a deliberate occupation of a sovereign country, and commit a clear violation of the Nuremberg Principles and international law.