Afghanistan does not equal Ukraine.
We had heavy CIA involvement in Afghanistan in the 80s. And other “interested” Americans.
Putin may not have that much interest in Ukraine proper, but he will never relinquish Crimea.
And if we’ve learned anything, in many instances, US involvement at any level leads to US boots on the ground...
Actually, the majority of US involvement during the Cold War involved material aid. Most of Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines) and Latin America received substantial sums of American aid to fight off their Communist insurgencies. Among the failed efforts that nonetheless stretched our adversaries' resources, we financed Angolan rebels against the ruling Soviet-aligned Angolan government, Tibetan insurgents against the Chinese, the contras against the Soviet-aligned Nicaraguan government.