I'm sure if Russia wins, it will bring its conquered lands to highs of democracy the rest of Russia enjoys... and the citizens will absolutely notice the difference.
Hands up, no my area. I'm not a Ukrainian. I known a few. They tell me Russia attacked their country. As does ever news outlet that I trust. So yer, sorry random person on the internet, I'm going with their narrative over yours.
Oh I skimmed it. Russia invaded following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, which was a anti-government uprising because the Russian puppet president won't sign a free trade deal with the EU. Russia claimed it was going in to protect Russian speaking pro-separatists. Only there was a lot of plain clothed Russian military on holiday there and the referendum was not free and fair by and standard above Russian.... etc etc.
Russia should have left Ukraine alone then and the west shouldn't have looked the other way when it didn't.
From vague memory and skimming Wikipedia: The president wasn't acting for the good of the country, but for the good of his puppet master. The number of protestors against the government significantly outweighed the pro-government protestors. The government lost any moral authority when they authorized live ammo against the protestors.
You have to squint very hard to see Putin's Russia as the good guys. They use dangerous poisoning, on foreign soil, against critics who leave Russia. Those who stay keep falling out of windows. They corrupt foreign democracies using troll farms and funding destabilizing elements. Internal democracy is a sham, Putin is Czar for life. Successful opposition politics are arrested and sent to crazy harsh prisons, where they get beaten to death if trouble continues. The list just goes on and on and that's just from memory and doesn't even include Ukraine.
Screw the Russian government. I hope the Russian people are free it one day soon.
Ukrainians can remove their leaders. Russia doesn't get to do that and they failed so far this time round. Though they have managed to seize yet more land.
Viktor Yanukovych may well have been elected fairly at the time. But he up set his people and then thought it was ok to authorize live ammo on his own people.