Like almost everything in politics, the good comes with a dose of bad. It would be naive to think otherwise. In WWII, for example, anyone could argue that Stalin was as bad as Hitler. Yet, Uncle Stalin was portrayed in the US press as an all-good angel. The thing is, Putin is using ongoing wars to shore up his presidency. Who Russia is attacking is not as important to him as the fact it was (or more likely was supposed to) keep up his popularity. The fact the war has backfired horribly for him was accidental and only happened because the West saw a chance to wound an aggressive country that is destabilizing big chunks of the world.
“...using ongoing wars to shore up his presidency.”
Irony. Big time. LOL
If Putin was actually a communist the western press would be in love with him just like they were with Stalin and Castro. This war would be depicted 180 out from now if Putin actually was trying to rebuild a new USSR. Press treatment of Putin shows that he isnt a commie. (Note: that doesnt mean he’s not an evil SOB. Just not a communist.)