War is defined by the instigator.

Maybe, if you’re a simpleton who needs everything boiled down to a single slogan/view due to being incapable of perceiving and analysing the totality of the event.

The great patriotic war was a war of liberation despite the Nazis instigating.

The war of resistance against Japan was again a war of liberation despite the Japanese instigating.

The Korean war was again a war of liberation despite it being instigated by the US and it’s client state.

And so on.