Trying to blame the west and western media for the criminal and authoritarian government of Russia, and for Russia's barbaric invasion of Ukraine does indeed make you a naive apologist for Putin. You got that one exactly right. If Russia would like to continue to lease land from Ukraine for a naval base, it must become a real member of the community of peaceful and responsible nations, and negotiate an agreement with the government of Ukraine. Today, and for the last decade or two, Russia has been and continues to be a rogue criminal and terrorist state. No amount of re-writing history or puppeteering will change that.