It's one of Putin's strategies: To make it look like it is a conflict between the US/NATO and Russia, not between Ukraine and Russia. He also tries to diminish Ukrainian sovereignity by making it appear as if the US is the overlord, as if Ukraine is an American puppet.
It's all about making Ukraine look like it isn't its own country. That's why we get those bullshit historic lessons by that pathetic man-child.
I agree with what you say. OP is implying that just because "It’s one of Putin’s strategies: To make it look like it is a conflict between the US/NATO and Russia, not between Ukraine and Russia." It's not true. And I would like to challenge that.
If there’s something I learned from libs during this war is that Russia’s no1 strategy is saying the truth of how geopolitics works. Dirty Russians… using the truth against us!
Perhaps I perceive this wrong, but it seems like the counterimplication is that this war is primarily between US/NATO and Russia with Ukraine being just a pawn. I don't think that's quite true either.
Ukraine lost its sovereignty back when the coup happened. The war is absolutely between NATO and Russia, and lots of NATO officials have said this fairly openly at this point. People who keep pretending otherwise are utterly disingenuous.
A U.S. official, speaking in Washington on condition of anonymity, said that the U.S. has not engaged in any back channel discussions with Russia and that Washington had been consistent in not going behind the back of Ukraine.