For the record, I supported the Iraq invasion at the time. I was taken in by all the propaganda. It won't happen again.

This Russian war is a pretty straightfoward war. If you think Russia is deliberately mowing down civilians, well, that's propaganda, just like we suffered back in Iraq 2

Russia's primary aim is to take the two breakaway provinces from ukraine and protect them because they are Russian speaking people. Mostly, anyway. They did not start this war to murder their own people.

Remember that this is a civil war. It started in 2014 with the coup and had been grinding along at low intensity until Russia invaded and joined the side of the breakaway provinces.

Don't be sucked in by the propaganda and the powerful need to find good guys and bad guys. The true bad guys are the war hawks in Washington whose policies and behavior encouraged this war, and who now help prevent a negotiated settlement. Ukraine is both a victim and an instigator, and Russia is pretty much doing what you would expect a great power to do in this situation. There have been lots of opportunities to negotiate both before and during this war, and Russia certainly gave diplomacy a go.

There is no doubt that civilians are getting killed. There is also no doubt that some soldiers on both sides are committing atrocities and war crimes, but it is certainly not offical policy for any of the participants to commit those crimes. Neither side is evil, everyone involved is human, and the reasons for the war are not simple.