When my wife and I were living in the UK, she and most of the other Russians we knew over there used to get pretty indignant at the way their country was portrayed in the media (this was the 2000s, until 2007). I used to tell them to look at how Russia behaved on the international stage and ask if, in the light of that, they were really surprised.
Your wife's view of the special military operation is very common over here at the moment. There's a distinct tendency not to want to believe they're the bad guys. Reminds me of that Mitchell and Webb sketch, actually.
Some might say that your wife should know better given that she has access to reporting that doesn't simply reflect the standard Russian line. I might have thought that once, as well. But when you look at how many people in the UK and US swallow all kinds of bullshit from dishonest politicians and news outlets who lie as a matter of routine, I no longer think so. It seems to be something that a large proportion of people are prone to, albeit that this is a fairly extreme example.
