there is an increasing discrepancy between what we think the information and general situation, for example, the people in rural Russia where most people live, is like versus what it actually is
Absolutely I believe that, and similar in the USA too. If you've ever seen those pictures where they say like "find the predator", and you scan it for a LONG time even zoomed in but cannot find it, then you get a good understanding that death awaits prey at every moment, and that real predators do not announce themselves like dogs barking, but rather stalk silently until they make their move. For people that are not paying attention, a civil war in any country could spring up "unexpectedly" and seemingly at a moment's notice.
Then again, as you say, perhaps it's too much to expect of people to be wary all the time, and to act to prevent being eaten alive. Actually though, I don't expect that of the common man, but I do expect it of leaders. 1 Timothy 3:1-7. That said, "expectations" aside, the common man will be the ones suffering the most, from the decisions of those leaders. e.g., if a Russian rapes & kills a Ukrainian family, even though we know that the military commander encouraged him to do it and in fact would shoot him in the back if he did not do at least the latter act, and then lets say that another Ukrainian catches him in the act and does the same to him in return, who do we blame there? The Ukrainian for "murdering" the Russian? No b/c it was self-defense, on Ukrainian soil (though the latter fact would be called "contested" I am sure). The Russian soldier? That is the question but yes, how could we not, even if he was a simple farmer back home, a mere month prior and had never raped or killed anyone in his entire life...before that day anyway? The Russian commander certainly, though it's worth pointing out that he in turn has commanders behind him, and so on up the chain. And on and on up to Putin, who we are tempted to blame most of all and yet... Putin too has bosses. Those behind the scenes, and also the entire populace of Russia that promoted him to that position of authority, and continued electing him, over and over and over again, even after he kept invading Ukraine inch by inch (Crimea, the area west of Crimea, and then... this has been happening for a DECADE! and the Georgian pipeline stuff before that!) - and even knowing all of that, they continued to elect him. How are they not "responsible" then? Anyway, regardless, they will suffer from the results in any case - e.g. the sanctions impact the entire nation, guilty and entirely innocent alike. i.e., there are varying degrees of guilt, even if only by association, though the consequences will not be apportioned out according to guilt, but rather the poorest & least powerful will suffer the most and vice versa, as always.
And ofc the same is true of the USA as well, I do not mean to place blame one-sided there while not accepting any for my own. Similarly the UK has been known to be quite expansionistic too... plundering treasures from around the world, as too has pretty much every country that has ever existed for any length of time. It is not exclusively a "Russian" problem - it is a human one.
As for what can be done about it: if Russia were to elect someone other than Putin in the next election, then same as the USA that elected someone other than Donald Trump, it would undoubtedly change the course of each nation's future, as well as the future of the other impacted nations. Maybe (likely?) that is not possible, or maybe it is possible but will not be done, but I mention it as an option. I do not really know what could actually be done though - I merely enjoyed musing over the situation with you, as an exercise trying to think about the various issues involved.
As for how the USA got here... I have little idea about that, only that those outside agents seem to fund both sides of an area that is already contentious, thereby getting them to fight one another and therefore become less capable of working together against a common enemy from the outside. Also, to be clear, I do not even blame Russia for doing it (predators predate, it's just what they do, getting mad will not help one tiny bit): ofc it is strategic for them to do so, and we have been trying to do exactly the same to them and many other nations around the globe for decades now. What blows my mind is how easily it was done, especially on the side of the USA being receptive to it. I can only conclude that the obstruction of virtually all workings in the law-making (Congress) and judicial (Supreme Court) branches bodies of the government is serving the ends of the most powerful people not only in Russia, but inside the USA as well. Once upon a time, powerful corporations needed an educated populace in order to continue to exist, but with the advent of globalism and mechanization, that is no longer true.