take the crimea? it was part of ukraine already.
okay. so you agree that he annexed crimea, that he arms rebels, that he lies about these things etc.
so now let's go back to the question of responsibility.
it is highly likely that the russian-backed rebels shot down a commercial airplane. it is highly likely they were using russian rocket launchers. it is highly likely they were trained by russia to use those launchers.
so it is highly likely that putin bears some of the blame, even if the action was a mistake. because it was reckless, given the fact that the international flight path above 32,000 feet was not closed, and they clearly had not identified the airplane.
so putin is culpable. to some extent. most likely.