Russia is not clearly targeting civilians any more than America targets civilians. Bombs and artillery are not precision instruments and when fighting forces mix in with civilian infrastructure there's going to be civilian casualties and destruction. America has done plenty of both in its endless wars on helpless populations. Pot meet kettle.
In other words, they are not waging a war of terror, they are trying to capture Donbas as intact as possible because they want to annex the territory or set it up as an independent country.
I think the rhetoric about denazification is somewhat sincere. They want to wreck the Ukrainian army and root out all the Nazis they find...and there are some real ones to be found. This will also include a variety of people who have truly angered the Russians over the years whether they are Nazis or not. If the Russians force an unconditional surrender, these people are in big trouble.
Regarding the lunge for Kiev, that force was not large enough to defeat the city but it was scary and forced defenders to remain in Kiev. There was also the possibility that Ukraine would just roll over and surrender in the first few days of the war. THAT certainly didn't come to pass, so eventually the Russians withdrew the force and put it to use elsewhere.
I completely disagree with you about diplomacy. There were two agreements drawn up in Minsk to settle this matter, but the war never really stopped. That was formal diplomacy. Putin negotiates. It doesn't always work out, but he gives it a shot and in reasonably good faith. If you're looking for examples of bad-faith negotiation, you're much more likely to find it in the West.
About both-sideism...Thanks, but I'll make up my own mind on these matters. I'm only required to support my own country, and the only Americans involved in this conflict are the idiot pack of neocons in Washington who fueled and fanned the fires of this war. When Ukraine loses these people will be out of power and we'll all be wondering how we got led into supporting a war half way around the world that has nothing to do with us or our interests.
You are right that entire countries cannot be held responsible for the decisions of their leaders, but they do suffer the consequences. A country is not its government no matter what the government claims.
And that's a good thing, because the American government has caused the deaths of millions of unlucky foreigners in their endless wars, and they're still doing it today. Have a look at Yemen.
The American neocon faction helped start this war in Ukraine and painted Russia as the evil Empire and Ukraine as the plucky Rebels. Neither is true. Russia is a rational actor doing what you would expect them to do and Ukraine is largely a victim pushed into this hopeless situation by a foreign power who does not care about their welfare pretending to be their friend.
