I can certainly understand, this is a whole conversation in Georgia where I lived for 6 years. I speak Russian and I found it way more useful there than English, though I still continue to study Georgian.

Georgians tend to underestimate their Russian and overestimate their English.

Here are some stats for you there:

35% of Georgians speak only one language and that language is usually Georgian. But there are some Armenian and Azerbaijani areas in the south that speak those languages and the level of Georgian fluency is low.

Of those who speak 2 or more languages, 88% speak Russian and 18% speak English.

But under 25 years old, 45% can speak English.

33% of the wealthier class also can speak English. You will encounter Georgians who say "I speak English and all my friends do too" this is a sign of their class and wealth. Only 5% of the lower class(generally the rural poor) can speak English.

A lot of the older generation are nostalgic for the Soviet Union but if you ask them about Abkhazia or Samachablo(south ossetia) you get a very different reaction concerning their thoughts on Russians. I also could bet you that more Ukrainian flags exist in Georgia than in Ukraine. You have to see it to believe it. You can't walk 50m without seeing it on hording, hanging from a balcony,in a shop window or on a bumper sticker.

While my Russian was useful it also affected my ability to learn Georgian as my friends who studied Georgian didn't have this language as an easy back up and so were forced to use Georgian more. So they had faster progress.

My wife, though, has a first language of Russian. She is an Armenian born in Georgia and can speak Georgian fluently and regularly does at the shops etc. But there were no Armenian language schools and Georgian attitudes towards Armenians are...interesting to say the least. The same comments I would hear about Jews in Russia I would hear about Armenians in Georgia. Though being a Jew in Georgia is like being a rockstar. Great for me, not great for my wife.

Our eldest goes to the Russian school, he learns Georgian as well but isn't good at it.

The younger generation in Georgia are similar to yourself, even if they know Russian they will pretend they don't and often on social media will ask why someone is posting in Russian in Georgia etc.

Talking about Russian as a useful lingua franca is not received well.

But I have this same conversation with my Israeli friends. Your neighbours are Arab, 20% of the population is also Arab. Learn Arabic if you want to trade and do business with them. And if you don't like them, learn their language so you can understand what they are saying.

Likewise for Georgians and probably Ukrainians, even if you don't like Russians it is useful to know the language of your enemy. But there is a difference between knowing a language and using it in daily life. You know Russian already, so you have no need to use it. And with limited time other languages like English might be a higher priority to learn.

I continue to study Russian as it the first language of my household and also the first language of my Crimean Tatar daughter in Uzbekistan. But I absolutely understand your point of view, especially with a conflict and now war going on since 2014.