I speak to Chinese and Taiwanese colleagues, also to South Korean colleagues. All are against the Western-led anti-Russia war.
We are in a bubble here. A huge bubble and we believe that we are the only right people with the only right opinion.
Do they support Russia's invasion of Ukraine?
What did Russia think Europe and the US were going to do? Russia seems to have gambled on the idea that Europe and the US would let the invasion happen unimpeded. It turns out Russia was wrong about that.
Russia also seems to have been wrong about the effectiveness of their own forces and the resistance they would face from Ukrainians.
Isn't the simple solution here for Russia withdraw from Ukraine, pay reparations, help with the extradition of those soldiers who have committed war crimes, and work on restoring international relations?
I would too. But that is not what is happening, instead we have Russian-led war against Ukraine.
Russia invaded neighboring sovereign nation with the goal of annexing the territory. Dichotomy is simple: If you want to live in a world where this is okay, you can support Russia.
Now, the hypocrisy is that europe is probably happy India is buying ressources from russia, and then sell them back to them, since they don't really have alternatives.
Does anyone hold it against Sweden and Switzerland that they sat out WW II? I've read, over the years, a complaint or two about particular policies, but I don't think they really affected the countries' image.
Nor do I see a compelling reason for India to align with either side.
What the west is doing is taking anti-war measures to actually make it stop.
Anti-war is to do everything to stop the war specifically diplomacy and talking to the enemy. Making deals, even if the enemy is an absolute psychopath.
There isn't a war, according to one of the combatants, so "ending the war" is a too vague. What does "end the war" mean when one of the combatants claims that there is no war? I think it's better to discuss how to end one the nasty results, and I chose the deportations of children. Not for any particular reason, just because it's of the concrete things we all want to stop.
The Russians have deported a staggering number of children (almost as many children as live in Berlin), both from areas near the frontline and areas far from it. Could you describe what the west might to do to stop those deportations? Something more effective than delivering weapons?
No thanks, American lies and propaganda must be banned + people spreading it must be punished.
Or are you suggesting that we should just allow Russia to invade other countries with impunity and give it parts of Ukraine as a ransom? We've already done that the previous time, we know how it ended: in Russia invading again.
Sadly the situation is not simple nor is is black and white. This isn't some small state that invaded another one that can be forced to do something it doesn't want to.
It would be like arming the Iraqis and sanctioning the US to get them to leave. The only way the US would leave is when they want to, no matter what anyone else says and it's very similar with Russia. A large majority of Russians justify this invasion just as the US population supported the troops at all cost. The Russians are feed lies in their media and the US had embedded journalists white washing the horrors of war. There was even a period in the US where the media was forbidden from showing returning cofins of dead US soilders. [1]
Thinking this can be resolved by more sanctions and endless weapons is a fools aron and won't ever end this until either Putin retires or dies from old age. That can be another 20 years and even then it is a big if because his successor may continue with the conflict.
[1] https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100597...
What worries me more is what happens next. Crumbling Russia will become an useful asset to China; they will probably try to balance that with India - otherwise USA will make sure they cease to be useful as an asset.
And yes, I can easily see Russia paying out reparations in, say, electricity, over the next couple of decides. They are good at building nuclear power plants, and have a lot of land to place them.
Yes. One way or another, Russia will pay. If only through discounted gas or indirectly after becoming China's puppet.
I do think Chinese and Indian media are largely pushing the same narratives as you and Russia, but polling colleagues about politics isn't going to be very accurate