Ukraine, with our and NATO’s help, has been the aggressor since 2014 in violation of Ukraine’s constitutional agreement to remain neutral toward Russia.
You can say this started 3 years ago or you can say it started centuries ago. Picking an arbitrary date in between is just propping up an agenda.
Except that Ukraine did not join NATO and remains officially neutral. Russia, on the other hand, has violated a number of agreements where it has recognized Ukraine's sovereignty and borders.