Chechen monkeys
People (including world leaders) have said much the same about Poles over the years and we're wrong about both. It pays not to underestimate either nation.
I doubt they have succeeded with anyone with half a brain cell
They haven't. It's the general public for whom Ukraine is a faraway land and for whom russia is something to do with vodka and cosmonauts that are the problem. Most russians could barely find their own capital on a map and perhaps the Putinist troll propagandists perhaps assume the same, however their event less onslaught of casting doubt on news sources and promoting online conspiracists and sundry YouTubers does appeal to the less well-educated and those who lack critical thinking. That's one reason why successful democracies necessarily have elements of meritocracy.
A good example related to the current Ukraine war is the people who believe that online conspiracists or use the silly term 'MSM' are somehow revelatory voices speaking a hidden truth whereas more responsible sources must be lying because they're not as interesting as the youtubers.
Purin's information wars seem to be like his military strategy, more volume than quality. I only wish the democratic world spent as much effort on them.
They then go on to claim that Poland should be grateful that Russia liberated them.
To be fair (or not, since I'm not minded to cut russians any slack right now) they pull the same stunt on ordinary russians and other people in their evil empire, telling them that they should be grateful to be russian since that's some sort of pinnacle of whatever. The French can be much the same albeit with less bloodshed.