One thing Putin is doing is providing a physical reality check on the propaganda BS the west in engaged in. They can say and spin lots of things. But in the end, Russia's forces now occupy Mariupol and many new locations in the Donbass. Those are physical realities that make the West's propaganda weaker by the day. The West says shit, and then have it proven wrong again and again, on the ground. I'm against Putin's invasion, because I'm against war. But what Putin says is happening is supported by the facts on the ground. That is an important distinction from what the West is saying, which is flat out fiction, backed by an equal amount of violence as what Putin is bringing to the table. At least his violence and destruction is enacted in defense of - and is supported by - reality.