“The Ukrainian government could have saved a lot of lives if it had simply said they would never join NATO.”
Oh, bullsh!t. NATO was never a serious issue for Putin; it was just an excuse. Had Putin been serious about no NATO countries on Russia’s borders he would have attacked NATO years ago. Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia all share a border with Russia; and if Putin takes Ukraine you can add three more to that number: Slovak Republic, Hungary, and Romania. Putin has no fear of NATO.
You truly need to catch up even on a little bit of history.
Nonsense. He invaded Ukraine because he knew NATO wouldn’t react. He would not invade a NATO country. He doesn’t even have the resources to take and hold all of Ukraine. Putin’s goals are limited.