Unlikely for it to be Russia. I’ve heard it said that Epstein was an intelligence operative, meaning he worked for an American agency or an allied nation, neither of which would make him a Russian asset. Factions exist within the American ruling elite that want Russia to be an ally and factions exist that want war with Russia or to see Russia destroyed/contained. Those factions that want containment support the Ukraine war and those that want friendship have been sidelined.

They couldn’t get grant funding, so they decided to go without.

Nonsense. It’s these sort of blanket statements that undermine a clear understanding of what each side wants. Putin wanted Ukraine to remain neutral and not join NATO, because the head of NATO, the United States was talking about unprovoked nuclear first strikes and all sorts of crazy things. Zelensky himself publicly floated the idea of Ukraine obtaining nukes. If your choice is between going to war and having a country on your border point nukes at you, then you might go to war.

In fact. The United States claimed Iraq (a country far away from itself) was trying to obtain nukes and invaded it in the 2000s, and that was while the leaders of Iraq were refuting the claim (and the Iraqis were telling the truth).

Boris Johnson told Zelensky not to accept a peace agreement in 2022 when Russia was willing to let Zelensky sit at the table. Now the Ukrainians don’t even get to attend the peace talks, no doubt because the Russians know that it’s the British and the Americans who give Zelensky his orders. Blame whoever you want, the Ukrainians really did it to themselves.