“We haven’t attacked Ukraine either. We’re defending our territory”, “Ukraine was ours then [in USSR], too!”, “It [Ukraine] was always part of Russia”, - this Russian woman is a good illustration of how an average Russian person sees the war and Ukraine. It is a mix of propaganda, ignorance and stereotypes, with little independent thinking.
If we go back, why not go further back? To the kingdom of Kyiv, where everything was Ukraine? Stupid I know, but it’s the same logic.