Russia did not "massacre civilians". Russia executed what they thought would be a limited military intervention to protect the ethnic Russians in the Donbas and force Ukraine to the negotiating table.
And indeed this WORKED. Zelensky and Putin had talks in Istanbul that resulted in a peace agreement that both sides were ready to sign in March 2022.
Unfortunately, Ukraine is no longer a sovereign country, and Boris Johnson flew to Kiev to tell Zelensky NOT to sign.
This was widely reported in the Ukrainian press at the time.
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