Russia pushed the Nazi narrative as propaganda and suckers in the west picked it up- All western nations have some rightwing and nazi elements- not only Ukraine-

Protecting Russian speakers in Donbas? sounds a lot like "protecting german speakers in the Sudetanland"

Any person with clear thinking can see why Ukrainians do NOT want to be tied to Russia- a corrupt oligarchy with no democratic system even remotely in place

There was a term from the cold war called "useful idiots" for those in the west that aided Stalinist propaganda- the more things change the more they stay the same- we now have Putin's useful idiots!