I must drag myself away from my computer.
My last bit, he’s leaving out a lot but points are good.
No part of me supports what is happening in Ukraine.
There’s one aspect that I feel people don’t understand:
For Americans WWII led to the Greatest Generation. For us Brits we had spitfires and The Blitz Spirit. Russians had none of that and no fond memories. All they experienced was an invading force who came not for tactical victories and negotiations; but the utter and total elimination of every Russian man woman and child. The complete and utter elimination of their entire culture was at stake. The scars of that conflict run so deep that it resonates profoundly to this day. Every city, town and village has a memorial of that incomprehensibly nightmarish conflict and the pain is still very real. It is ingrained in the Russian psyche.
For decades Russia has first asked, then pleaded, then cautioned, then threatened against NATO expansion because they have bad associations with organised European armies massed at their borders. NATO are touted as a defensive force but Libya and Afghanistan would beg to differ.
Ukraine has never been culturally associated with The West.
People think NATO expansion is just a technicality that Putin is using to enact his own expansionist agenda. But it is more than just a technicality. And it’s not just about Putin. Every Russian I’ve spoken to is angry and frustrated by NATO and Europe. They do not want a unified and incredibly well funded pan European and American army massed on their borders. A non NATO buffer zone isn’t just some legal jargon but a very real comfort.
Russia had a friendly leader in Ukraine. Sure, Yanukovich was as incompetent as he was corrupt, or vice versa. But at least to them he was pro Russia. Seeing their democratically elected leader ousted by a mob angered Russians and pro-Russian Ukrainians.
But this latest attempt to join NATO proved to be the last straw: after those decades of requests and threats that amounted to nothing, Russia has finally acted on the threat that has been loudly and unambiguously trumpeted for years.
EDIT: this is not my justification nor am I an apologist. I am merely sharing a perspective that I feel many people simply have not considered
In case anyone wants this info. Links in article.
https://www.rt.com/russia/551256-how-access-rt-censorship-bypass/
How to access RT.com
If you can’t get news from RT due to government restrictions, here are some alternative ways to access our content
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A very large, land-locked country sitting on vast open plains with few natural borders surrounded by hostile neighbors that is especially touchy about being denied access to the sea, particularly its only warm water port.
Poking the Bear is not a good idea.