“Stopping gangster regimes like Russia from gobbling up one country after another is definitely in our interest, even if only indirectly.”
There are no facts behind that assertion, only emotion.
Who cares if Russia swallow Georgia or Moldova or Ukraine?
How does that impact US national security interests, and what are those interests?
I stridently support the unilateral pursuit of US interests just as I stridently oppose wasting our “ammo” and national energy.
Are you serious? What about Russian aid of FARC, arming Venezuela--which is not just a communist regime, but a known NARCO state that has weaponized the drug trade? What about illegal trade with North Korea? What about threatening to halt gas supplies if they don't get their way, as they are currently doing through Belarus with the fake "refugee" crisis on the Polish border? Or what about when Russkies go around and poison people, like Litvinenko who was poisoned by Polonium 210 for the crime of pointing out that Al-Qaeda's number 2 was trained in an FSB training camp before being sent to join with Bin Laden? Or what about when Russian soldiers go into Chechnya, and in documented cases, commit mass rapes of the men---(when not raping foreigners, Russian soldiers typically mass rape THEMSELVES in the bunkers, with there being mass suicides of conscripts every year as a result). And what about the personal corruption of Putin and his "former" KGB agents who dominate the Russian government? They have billions of dollars by sitting on their ass in a government office!
How does that impact US national security interests, and what are those interests?
Well, what about Poland, which is also being threatened by Russia with bombers in support of Belarus? It was the Russian government itself that immediately told Poland that the Muslims--which were flown in by Russia and Belarus through Turkey--were the fault of NATO and Poland. Millions of Russkie trolls have been spamming such communist talking points, calling for mercy for the Muslims, and blaming Poland for "participating in the Iraq invasion" and allegedly causing the crisis.
When Russia takes Ukraine unopposed, how much longer until they destabalize Poland with terror attacks and separatist insurgencies, which they will of course blame on the West and deny any connection to?
“Who cares if Russia swallow Georgia or Moldova or Ukraine?”
Yeah, who cares if China swallows Taiwan, Korea and Japan. Some strange countries far away from my farm...