Never that simple and historically not accurate. The DON-bass, Crimea, and eastern Ukraine is mostly ethnic Russian and always has been. Stalin gave the Ukraine border for Krushev who was Ukrainian. Ukraine was never a nation and those borders were drawn on a political map. A lot of Western Ukraine was once Poland. Russia was protecting ethnic Russians. Russia should not have invaded, but Zelensky started this mess with Western assurance of military support when he attacked and first and began killing ethnic Russians. The Russians have wanted to negotiate, but Biden and his handlers want war. Europe and Ukraine broke the Minsk agreement and never intended to hold to it. That is what started this mess. The majority of Ukrainians do not support this war or Zelensky which is why he called off elections. His own people will take him out to end this war.
A lot of ethnic Russians, it seems, don’t want to be ruled from Moscow. The original vote for secession was approved even in those regions.
Zelensky did not “attack first”. There was an internationally monitored ceasefire line with those parts of Donetsk and Luhansk and there was no attack or encroachment on it. The Russian assertions on all this are bullshit.
The Russians/separatists broke the Minsk agreement because they would not allow Ukrainian forces to reoccupy the region and hold the border. Everyone knew the Minsk agreement was a dead letter from day 1, as a consequence.
“The majority of Ukrainians do not support this war or Zelensky”
Yet another heroic assumption based on nothing.