I wasn't responding to what "the Russians" where saying; but rather to what you were saying. Which unfortunately was just plainly illogical and counterfactual (on that specific point, at least).

But to address one aspect of what you're saying now:

I think it’s kind of obvious that the core Russian desire is to keep nato far from its borders.

This is broadly correct, and perfectly understandable.

However the war was never really about NATO expansion in the first place. And even if it were -- it definitely wasn't a rational response to that concern. And it certainly wasn't a response that the current regime was "pushed" into in any meaningful sense (as would seem to be youre implication here).