Article by dmitri trenin Director of Moscow Carnegie center on Russia future outlook. This is a must read dmitri lays out the straight brutal truth unlike western journos obfuscating and not understanding what is happening. He also served in ussr military for 21 years.
(globalaffairs-ru.translate.goog)
Your choice is to be aware of both sides' narrative, with the realization that they are liars, and then sift out the likely middle ground.
Or y'know, remain ignorant, and then your comment would be on point.
Respectable