Russia had the country wrapped up by March. They had shaped the battlefield and had the upper hand.
Peace talks were then ready to be signed, and Russia pulled back from around Kiev as a sign of willingness to negotiate, remember they only had 50k troops there which was not a large enough force to really take the city, and the deal was on the table in April, but the west decided no, we don't want peace, send in Boris.
Then the western support started en masse, and here we are with 300k+ Ukrainian deaths later that you seem to have no issues with.
If Russia had fought doctrinally, i.e. a full-scale war with artillery front and centre, it would have been over in no time. And Ukraine would have been destroyed like Baghdad.
But they don't view everyday Ukrainians as enemies; they are close relatives. Hence why there are not many civilian deaths, electricity still runs, the internet still works, and water still runs.
Which bit isn't reality?
