Both NATO and the United States have mounted a massive propaganda campaign to make Russia the enemy in the eyes of the West, American activist Phil Wilayto told Sputnik. 

"I think the US and NATO have carefully carried out a massive propaganda campaign against Russia that has led most people in the West to unthinkingly accept the narrative that Russia is an enemy country run by a brutal dictator with expansionist ambitions," Wilayto, a co-founder of the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality and coordinator of the Odessa Solidarity Campaign, said.

Wilayto holds the US and NATO responsible for the situation in Ukraine. 

"Since the right-wing coup of 2014, the US has provided Ukraine with more than $2.5 billion in military aid. NATO and the US regularly conduct large-scale military operations with the Ukrainian military on Ukrainian soil and airspace and in the Black Sea," he said.

The activist wondered what would happen if Russia was arming, training, and mobilizing military forces near the United States. "There is no doubt what the reaction would be," he answered.

See this: Millions spent on anti-Russia narrative in Ukraine

He also accused the US government of supporting the 2014 violent coup in Ukraine and bringing to power people who "have taken down memorials to Soviet heroes of World War II and replaced them with memorials to Ukrainian fascists who sided with the Nazi occupation."

"Before the coup, by its own admission, the US had provided $5 billion to non-governmental, so-called 'pro-democracy' organizations, a clear interference in Ukraine’s internal affairs, while the Soros foundation provided billions more," Wilayto said.

See this: Fact check: A Ukrainian girl confronting a Russian soldier?

In a televised address on February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that in response to a request from the heads of the Donbass republics, he had decided to launch a special military operation to protect people "who have been subjected to abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years."

The Russian Commander made it clear that Moscow had no intention of invading Ukrainian territory, and that the operation was intended to demilitarize and de-nazify the country.

Western politicians have condemned the decision, which has resulted in penalties against the Russian central bank, export controls, and a SWIFT cutoff for a few banks. Furthermore, the European Union has barred RT and Sputnik from broadcasting in the EU, as well as their YouTube and TikTok accounts.