Putin is popular and has personal interest in remaining so, because otherwise Russian elites will find themselves a new Putin.
Empires in all incarnations are pure evil https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_involving_Russi...
Let me make this clear for you: Russia invaded Ukraine, and wants to erase the existence of Ukraine.
Russia steals Ukrainian grain and agricultural machines.
Russia destroys Ukrainian museums and any historical artefact related to Ukrainian writers.
Russia steals ukrainian children to raise them as russians.
Russia is engaged in open genocidal elimination of Ukraine. They speak about it openly, they write about it, they issue press releases about it.
There is no proxy there. Russia is doing all of this by themselves.
Fact that other countries use the war for their own politics doesn't change it in the slightest.
Comments should get more thoughtful and substantive, not less, as a topic gets more divisive.
Eschew flamebait. Avoid generic tangents. Omit internet tropes.