Very much so. The Biden administration was sounding the alarm, loudly, and the general vibe was, "well that wouldn't make any sense, there goes America crying wolf again like Iraq"

Here was one example: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-invasion-predictions-...

See also: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/21/why-ukrainians-dont...