Poles know. Czechs know. Hungarians know. Bulgarians know. Romanians know. Ukrainians know. Georgians know.b Chechens know. Having Moscow as a "friend" means having Moscow's hand on your throat 24/7/365. In the case of Ukraine, it also means cultural genocide. Extinction of your language, your religion, your history. Deportation of adults and children for "re-education" in "Russia". Denial of jobs and even medical care if you haven't obtained a Russian passport.
https://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/24-210-01%20ISW%20Occupation%20playbook.pdf
Back in ‘56 some Hungarians started to think for themselves. They got invaded by the Russians.
Back in ‘68 some Czechs and Slovaks started to think for themselves. They got invaded by the Russians.
Back in ‘79 some Afghans started to think for themselves. They got invaded by the Russians.
Back in ‘94 some Chechens started to think for themselves. They got invaded by the Russians.
Back in 2014, some Ukrainians started to think for themselves. Guess what? THEY GOT INVADED BY THE RUSSIANS.