Actually, there was an alternative: don't invade Ukraine. Since neither Ukraine nor "the west" nor NATO nor the US had shown any interest in attacking Russia, this would clearly have been the better alternative, but whether under the Czars or the communists or Russia's current fascist dictatorship, Imperialism has always been a core value of Russia, and just as Stalin could not resist the temptation of gaining half of Poland by allying Russia with Hitler's Germany, Putin could not resist what he believed would be a three day war to take over Ukraine. Just as Stalin was too stupid and greedy to see the consequences of his deal with Hitler, Putin was too stupid and greedy to see the disaster he was leading Russia into. This war is clearly the result of the incompetence and depravity of the Russian government.