What is going on in the comments here? Are there really people on HN that think Russia spent all that time, money, and effort to amass their troops on the border just as a ruse, and the intelligence services are just making it all up?
Whenever we're writing code that helps a military, we may be writing it to kill the family of a colleague, which is clearly immoral.
So from your point of view that makes Ukraine a very moral country. We'll soon see what that means for the Ukrainian people.
To enrich some oligarchs associated with the Kremlin and play geopolitics about energy? Yeah it wouldn't be surprising in the slightest.
This is a serious issue, millions of lives hang in the balance here, and all the commenters here want to play armchair general. I'm in disbelief.
It's a fraction of Russian forces already close by, then there's another 2 million reserves just waiting around at home. Supply/movement costs are barely a rounding error and it's bizarre to hear otherwise as though they care about taxpayer waste? Spending the most on nothing is basically a political sport there.
Then there's this:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/03/world/europe/putin-sancti...
Putin is in an excellent position to weather any western sanctions from stirring the pot, and we all know it. Germany, the de facto leader of the EU just threw away it's nuclear powerplants becoming ever more reliant on Russia for its vital energy needs for the next few decades. They know how strong a position they have and are going to cause trouble over the Ukraine NATO thing without fear, that's pretty much the extent of it.
It's the usual 5 eyes nonsense where our media hypes it up for months and then nothing. You should try talking to some South Koreans or Taiwanese about this phenomenon, it will be their turn again next year. It's far too late in winter to be invading anyone.
1. US/nato didnt send military so close to Russian border at this scale before
If a country that I had a cold war with amassed military near my border I'd be rightfully paranoid (I am not from us or russia btw)
2. Deescalation needs at least one side not amassing military there else its a never ending spiral into war.. and due to #1 us/nato should take that step, not act like russia, rather be better
3. Like others said, the same sources that lied about Iraq, Afghanistan etc.. yeah, it's come to it that many comments that said that are (or looks like) from us citizens
Not as a ruse, but as a show of force to bolster his negotiation position. Putin would have to be insane to actually invade. It would be the end of his regime.
US intelligence agencies have a history of making things up, yes.
As for "what is going on in the comments", I have to ask the same question. The credulity, paranoia, and lack of perspective is somewhat astonishing to me. There are people who literally think that eastern Ukraine is absolutely vital to American interests.