My own sympathies lie with the thousands of young Russian men who've been sacrificed on the altar of Putin's vanity and hubris.

He does not own Russia, despite the cult of personality to the contrary.

As for Western propaganda. I refer you to some of my earlier analyses of the conflict:

https://johnwight1.medium.com/why-russias-absorption-of-four-ukrainian-regions-into-the-russian-federation-is-not-annexation-but-e27093b84bab

https://johnwight1.medium.com/almost-the-entire-un-general-assembly-opposes-russia-but-will-history-f31ee54a9dc0