Ukraine

This! Britain, Germany etc. didn't have a reasonable exit strategy for avoiding the bombing. There is a potential exit for russia.

Russian population has to understand at some level, that these events are a result of actions russia has taken in a foreign country. They didn't happen before russian leadership dragged the country into this mess. The west has also given clear signals that the sanctions and military support are a direct result of russian actions. Their magnitude is driven by russian actions and escalation.

This is a form of backlash instead of oppression. Backlash is for signaling that what you're doing is a bad idea. The other is completely different.