I had heard only bits about it, but I saw a piece (Aaron Maté maybe?) that there has been a group of US oligarchs working on "Ukraine help group" (not the name but something like that) since at least 2018. Then when Russia invaded they changed their name to something more "patriotic" sounding.

Yes, Hitler came to power and once consolidated, the Nazis immediately purged the socialists from their ranks. By purged I mean exiled, put in KZs or straight up murdered.