Maybe because in 2014 Ukraine decided that Russia was their biggest enemy and they would fight against them to the death. They were not expecting to die, tho. Reality hits hard.
The other club is not an inherent enemy of Russia - it was an ally all up until the 2022 invasion. The friendship even remained through the 2014 invasion, though strained, but did remain in place. Russia could've kept selling natural gas, EU could've been a happy buyer, and Ukraine could've been an EU member - nothing bad for Russia or Russians about that. It's bad for Putin's imperialism though.
BTW it's funny to talk about neonazis without mentioning the actual neonazis, Russian nationalists and white supremacists who came to fight in Ukraine in 2014 to support the imperial dreams of Putin.
Yes, the US decided and it was easy to lure thousands of Ukrainians to the Maidan uprising. 10 years ago no Ukranian would think that ditching Russian influence in favor of the West would end so bad, right? Now it is time for them to come to their senses and stop throwing themselves to a meat grind. The dream of beating a nuclear power is too far from reality for them and the earlier the civilians understand that, the better. That's a war they should never ever being convinced they could win. Even if they could win now they already lost so much.
It is still time to think if this is enough or if Ukraine wants to gamble their whole existence and continue waging a war they can't win.
Btw there was no mention of neonazis yet but it seems like supporting nazis is something that bothers you? It is still time to stop.
A friendly reminder that the unstoppable nuclear power of the USSR was in-fact toppled by self-imposed economic reform and a lack of control over it's constituent states.
So in reality, beating a nuclear power via secession and self-determination isn't just feasible, it's the standard.
I don't think Ukraine has the resources and the manpower to fight Russia for 50 years.
The whole world knows the score. Putin had to stage terrorist attacks on his own country to secure a single presidency. Without popular appeal he can only threaten people smaller than him, and even those countries are willing to call Putin's bluff: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_lines_in_the_Russo-Ukraini...
Do you realize how that makes no sense?