Is your argument so convincing that you can only make it with someone who already agrees with you?
Proxy war: Major power instigates war that it not a participant in.
You blame everyone else for Putin's war except Putin. The West did their best to either ignore Putins invasion or appease him to avoid conflict.
The EU allowed themselves to become dependant on Russian gas and thus Putin's influence.
Nato appeased Putin by rejecting Ukraine’s Nato bid and there was no prospect of Ukraine joining Nato.
The West took no action against Putin when he first invaded Ukraine in 2014. Support from the West came AFTER Putin further invaded Ukraine the 2nd time, not before.
Not the sort of actions you’d take trying to "instigate" a war.
Let's look at what you and the pro Kremlin team claim.
Your Kremlin “coup” lie, you say it was the CIA but you mix it up and give immaterial “proof” of things you think Ukraine did, then here it would be Ukraine “instigating” and not the West.
Your other justification for Putin’s crimes against humanity war on Ukraine is Ukraine wanting to be in Nato and the EU, again that would be Ukraine “instigating” and not the West.
A popular Kremlin lie pushed on here is “Donbas shelling” which while completely untrue again would be Ukraine “instigating” and not the West.
See Lucky, unless youy take the West offering a better way of life than Putin's morally, socially and economically corrupt way of life as "instigating", then it’s pretty clear and easy to see Putin's war is entirely Putin's choice and fault.
Putin instigated his war. Putin is directly involved in his war. Not a proxy war by definition.
