You had civil militias fighting on both sides, although both regular Ukrainian and Russian armies were involved. Of course, the Russian army always claimed it was not involved but that is another topic.
I agree there's a non-negligible dimension of foreign military invasion in the ukrainian conflict, but it's not exactly as clearcut as that. Now is a good time to mention i'm neither ukrainian nor an expert on the topic; this analysis is based on my readings and first-hand accounts from ukrainian refugees.
I get your point. But this is exactly what Russian information sources are trying to make everyone believe (that "it's not exactly as clearcut as that", almost a literal translation of the phrase they like to repeat so much). I can presume that your information sources got most of their information from Russia-influenced media, and this pretty much expected if they were in the East at the time everything started. But the truth is that, once you peel back the informational disguise, it actually is very clear-cut.
I have first-hand accounts from ukrainian refugees/comrades telling me about how it was on the streets, and how the far-right movement in Ukraine was strongly divided between those siding for Ukraine as part of a nationalist stance, and those siding for Russia because it was seen as the strong authoritarian hand they wanted.
They have even explained in length how Ukraine's government has since the civil war incorporated Azov and other nazi militias into a kind of national guard / para-military organization which now greatly threatens social/political activities on the streets.
That sounds plausible to me, unless of course these acquaintances have lied to me about their actual experiences of a civil war, but i somehow trust them more than imperialist media whether from EU side or Russia side. Disclaimer: these acquaintances of mine were on the pro-Ukraine/EU side, some of them fought as part of civil militias before becoming refugees.
A prolonged conflict is only clear-cut if you’re pushing a narrative. https://youtu.be/4pfYeDAKiyA
It’s obvious that the majority of DNR and LNR military are locals. We can speculate all we want how they joined the forces, but it is what it is.
I agree there's a non-negligible dimension of foreign military invasion in the ukrainian conflict, but it's not exactly as clearcut as that. Now is a good time to mention i'm neither ukrainian nor an expert on the topic; this analysis is based on my readings and first-hand accounts from ukrainian refugees.