the counterarguments to this isn't on my speed dial at the moment, but it sounds similar to cherrypicking of the sort that you tend to see in Russian media sources - the ones that are heavily censored at the moment
if the Russians were so correct about this POV, why would they need to introduce such strict laws to curtail speech?
I'm an anarcho capitalist, so I don't think these governments are legitimate in the first place, and only exist through the immoral use of force and coercion against peaceful people, Russia, Ukraine, the US. Just wanted to be clear about that; my point is not that Russia is right, my point is that US military adventurism in the middle east has killed 11 million civilians, and that Russia's invasion of Ukraine pails in comparison to the demon we created by invading Iraq, both in it's human costs and in its misalignment with reality.
Maybe they are Russian talking points, just like communists in China believe in Einstein's theories of relativity and the Nazis believed in gravity. These being "Russian talking points" is a statement, and it may have adjacency to the truth; but you would have to clarify how this fits into a rational argument. For instance, "Putin has commited war crimes in Ukraine, as evidenced by (photography, witness)", whereas in this example you are saying "Putin's advisor can't be trusted because he has loose ethical standards", yes that may be true, but you still need to string that together into an actual arguement about the implications of that statement. So specifically, what is wrong with the argument "NATO has been encroaching on Russia's borders, and this is basically our fault"?
Finally, censorship is always wrong, and its only ever used by weak minded tyrants. However, don't confuse what you have with "free speech". Russia and China are less sophisticated than their western counterparts in the realm of information control, they use threats of physical violence. Western countries use cancel culture, backroom deals with tech companies, and legal ambiguity to control information. Of course its wrong, but it exists because we live in a time of dying empires, and Russia is one of them.
You living in Norway I can empathize with your concern, I am friends with a couple Norwegians and can understand you are probably feeling a bit more stressed out about the war in Ukraine than I do. That said, western Europe has gone off the rails, and I truly believe that is a bigger threat to you than Russia.
