I spent an couple weeks in the major Ukrainaian city of Dnipro, which is in the Eastern half of the country and where everybody speaks Russian.
These folk are proud of their Russian heritage and appreciate cultural and economic relationsships with Russians.
But they universally hated their Soviet past and wanted nothing to do with living under Putin's regime.
This video chronicals the real reason Putin's army has failed... the population mounted a guerrilla force that doomed the occupiers.
Thhe would have continued this forever.
Yes, Western weapons have enabled Ukraine to mount a counteroffensive... but this may actually shorten the war because it is already pressuring Russia to negotiate.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE8FI1BBKes