RJM, this is not the place for detailed political analysis, so I'll be as brief as possible. NATO is a treaty organization whose members promise to defend one another against aggression, nothing more. In particular, NATO cannot promise anything to Gorbachev. If NATO members have an imperialist agenda or other sinister goals, they cannot use NATO to force others to obey them. Putin, by the way, has acknowledged this publicly when he commented about Sweden and Finland. Consequently, his wish to annex the Ukraine cannot be a reaction to the Ukraine's desire to join the NATO – it is the other way round.

In case of Zelenskyy's mother tongue, it is well-documented, and I have never read anyone doubting it. Russian media always spell him Vladimir Zelenskiy, which is the name he had at birth. I know other Russian-speaking Ukrainians (and, by the way, Russians) who are strongly opposed to Putin. However, I cannot say how many they are, and how many Ukrainians actually welcome the invasion. Elon Musk has proposed to repeat the referenda under UN supervision – it will not happen, but Putin is too much of a coward to even offer it.

Wikipedia must not be trusted when facts are being disputed. If you understand Russian, you can watch Russian media, which tend to unmask themselves without the CIA having to interfere. On the other hand, some Russian-paid Americans do a good job for Putin. –

Good political songs can of course restrict themselves to describing a situation, in particular if that is news to some listeners. However, if the message is just "I despise X", those who love X will feel on equal footing.