There are many contentious issues related to this situation, many inconclusive arguments over who started the violence during the revolution, over the extent to which the overthrown government was a Russian puppet, over the extent to which the revolutionaries were NATO puppets, over whether or not the revolution was justified despite it having deposed a fairly elected government because the government was corrupt, and so on, over Russian hypocrisy in supporting Donbass separatists even though Russia would not permit one of its own territories to secede, etc. I would not say that it is an open and shut matter.

The way I see it, at the very least there is not some cartoonishly good side in this war that is covered only in honor.

Like it or not, Putin did exactly what he said he would do should Ukraine (or any other border adjacent country), attempt to join NATO. What changed is that our sitting President encouraged Ukraine’s to go for it, where past presidents discouraged poking the bear.