Well, either that or the west has decided that Russia is the enemy. I honestly don't buy the saying "Russia has made themselves the enemy of the west". Why would anybody want to be the enemy of the global superpower?
For the same reason that despots around the world "hate the west." [0] Because it takes the domestic population's eyes off of all the domestic issues such as rampant corruption and curtailment of basic freedoms.
[0] See: Iran & North Korea who non-coincidentally are both supplying Russia with arms which are used to kill Ukrainian grandparents and children living peacefully in their villages and cities.
To be clear, I'd much rather live here than in Russia, and I also would prefer that Russia wasn't slaughtering people in Ukraine, including their own.
In the case of both the Balkan wars and the invasion of Ukraine, it was because staying friends with the global superpower meant that one wouldn’t get control of the lands one claimed.
In this case it's imperialism:
- Donbas: rich on natural resources
- Crimea: large amount of gas was found in 2008. Project by shell was ready in late 2013.
They invaded in 2014.
But if he needs to choose between his "moral code" and his big fat palace.
The palace wins
You don't need Anne Applebaum screeds, boosted Reddit comments and a expertly-curated media bubble to determine that Hitler was insane.