to me that's the smoking gun.
the west from day one has tried to fan the flames to support ukraine. if russia truly did this, the west would be shouting from the rooftops.
ESPECIALLY when their populations have endured higher energy costs because of it. if a european politician could point at russia and say THEY CAUSED YOUR ENERGY BILLS TO SKYROCKET don't you think they would? remember president biden's "Putin's Price Hike" line?
instead the narrative is "we will suffer for however long it takes to support ukraine"