You're an American, so why don't you tell me what you gained from the quagmire in Afghanistan?

People of Donetsks and Luhansk are ethnically Russian and they want independence. Weird how westerners only care about people's right to self determination when it suits them. The leaders of these republics explicitly asked Russia for help after Ukraine failed to abide by Minsk agreements that require Ukraine to give Donbas autonomy.

Stop trying to invent reality.