It's not just the media reporting in itself as much as how concerned people are about the suffering that happens during that war. Sure people watched Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on TV but most of the Western world was free to watch it with detachment and just a tiniest bit of worry. There has been constant fighting in the Middle East for decades but it's just too far away for people in the West to process that concern, or to blame the countries committing those atrocities (whether Russia or the US). It's "countries far away we don't like anyway", "people who aren't like us anyway".

Now it's close to home, happening to people like us. Now it's a genuine concern and those who are close enough in Europe are forced to process those worries, go through them, make scenarios, visualize the loss because it may be their loss soon.

When Russia was bombing the hell out of Syria very few people felt the visceral hate or fear they feel now. And I bet far fewer people remember that this is even more recent than the Crimean invasion and that they've kept bombing Syria well into 2021. When Russia was invading Georgia we just watched the news and shook our heads. Same when Russia and Turkey were fighting their proxy wars in the Caucasus, Western and Central Asia. All too far from us to care.

It was all about thoughts and prayers until the bombs hit close to home.