[Tupelo]

I am not a fan of this current Pope, but he is not wrong here. I agree that NATO “barking at Russia's door” probably provoked Putin to strike out by invading Ukraine.
Do I agree with Putin? Hell NO!
But we should look at the the West's rhetoric and actions since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

[nathanbedford]

“You cannot think that a free state can wage war on another free state...In Ukraine, it seems that it was others who created the conflict.”

Even a Marxist pontiff should bear responsibility for the inanity of his own dicta. It is beyond inanity in one breath to rule that one free state may not wage war on another and in the next breath to rationalize precisely that.

“Provocation” is no justification for invasion and the Pope has confused the meaning of these two words. The trials at Nuremberg settled that.

[nathanbedford]

“You cannot think that a free state can wage war on another free state...In Ukraine, it seems that it was others who created the conflict.”

Even a Marxist pontiff should bear responsibility for the inanity of his own dicta. It is beyond inanity in one breath to rule that one free state may not wage war on another and in the next breath to rationalize precisely that.

“Provocation” is no justification for invasion and the Pope has confused the meaning of these two words. The trials at Nuremberg settled that.

[BroJoeK]

Tupelo: "I agree that NATO “barking at Russia's door” probably provoked Putin to strike out by invading Ukraine...
we should look at the the West's rhetoric and actions since the collapse of the Soviet Union."

Sorry, but that's pure rubbish -- "barking at Russia's door"?? -- barking?!
How insane do you have to be to think that "barking" is a casus belli to invade your neighbor?

Here's the real truth -- Putin's invasion had nothing to do with "barking" and everything to do with Joe Biden's weakness on full display in his skedaddle from Afghanistan.
Clearly Puting realized that now is the best chance he'll ever have to begin reconstituting the old Russian Empire.

"Barking" means nothing, it's perceived weakness that provokes.

[lodi90]

I am not a fan of this current Pope, but he is not wrong here. I agree that NATO “barking at Russia’s door” probably provoked Putin to strike out by invading Ukraine.

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Russia invaded and murdered its neighbors long before NATO was a thing. Russia’s neighbors provoke them simply by existing.