And the Minsk Protocol was a thing because... wait for it... Russia invaded Ukraine. This is why it's ridiculous to blame everyone but Russia for Russia's own actions (that's what I tried to point out in my reply above).
The same way a country like the US is responsible for their invasion of Iraq, their actions in Vietnam, etc, Russia is responsible for their invasion of Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine, no "buts" or "ifs".
On a side note, I was trying to read that article with an open mind, but there are some red flags that I couldn't ignore. "[...] Russian officials had worked for 8 years on Minsk hammering out terms that would be agreeable to all parties [...]". Russia, as the aggressor - they invaded, occupied, armed, and even fought directly against Ukrainian forces - could never come up with terms that were agreeable to all parties. This and other things should tell you that that's not a very unbiased source.
And after that there was another peace agreement scuppered, allegedly by Boris Johnson. Easy to search for.