What do you think led Vlad to invade?
The US has been mounting a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine for the past 20 years, one they're ready - barring political upheaval in the US - to fight down to the last European.
> proxy war against Russia in Ukraine
To a certain extent this is true, but the Ukranians have been very keen on it as they've benefited from not being a puppet state run by a corrupt president who built himself a huge palace. And Russia has no right to be "in" Ukraine in the first place.
This is a media deflection. They massively blow this up with Ukraine but literally do nothing when Sweden and Finland joins.
What putin really fears, is free, rich and democratic country in which large parts of population speak russian language. The masses can't be placated if "the same people" live better lives than under mafia regime. That's why russia spend last 30 years undermining free Ukraine and ensuring their hold on Belarus.
Very clearly Poland done some things right, while Ukraine did not.
The one important thing that we have done right appears to be immediate turning towards West after collapsing communist regime in 1989. Joining NATO and EU.
Poland never wanted to be in the Russian sphere of influence. We have spilled rivers of blood in countless wars, uprisings and protests against Russian imperialism in past 300 years.
Ukraine means "borderland". Historically Ukraine was in a constant state of wars between Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Swedish Empire and Russian Empire since before USA even existed.
So, historically Ukraine was always split between West and East. All regions of Ukraine very clearly wanted independence in 1991. But modern Western Ukraine wanted to join EU and follow Polish path to prosperity. That's why Maidan protests started in late 2013.
Putin invaded Ukraine because he believed in a false story that Ukrainians wanted to be Little-Russians fed to him by FSB agents (KGB successor). And in order to keep Ukrainians from the Western path to prosperity. Ukraine as prosperous as Poland, meaning more prosperous than Russia, would threaten his regime and Russian idea of greatness.
But Russian speaking Ukrainians sympathetic to Russia never asked for their whole lives to be upended and to be bombed by Russia into oblivion. Ukraine is no longer split. This war is their war of independence, true nation forming event. Their new found hatred towards Russia and Russians is enormous and that leaves them with the only other direction - towards West.
Don't forget Turkey. Ukraine was also invaded by Turks and Tatars many times.
>Putin invaded Ukraine because he believed in a false story that Ukrainians wanted to be Little-Russians fed to him by FSB agents (KGB successor).
I don't think he really believed in an real enthusiasm, but rather passiveness and complacency that characterized "Great-Russians" under his regime.
>But Russian speaking Ukrainians sympathetic to Russia never asked for their whole lives to be upended and to be bombed by Russia into oblivion.
That's a giant point not even touched once by trolls that love to share 2012 Ukraine election results. There's massive difference between believing that Ukraine needs to ally with Russia, there are cultural ties and similar points, and wishing for literal invasion of your country by foreign empire.
There are vast natural resources in Ukraine which threatens Russias place as the gas station to the world.
They also have imperialistic ambitions to try and restore what they see as the glory days of the USSR.
Any combination of (in no particular order):
- paranoia
- phantom empire pains
- complete and utter failure to produce anything of note on ideological level except "we're a great empire that is surrounded strictly by enemies".
- waning economy with no means, desire, or knowledge to maintain or support it
> The US has been mounting a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine for the past 20 years
No on has done more to alienate Russia from its closest neighbours more than Russia itself.
You forgot one thing: WW2 victory cult.
Americans who claim that their country overtly glorifies the military would be shocked how insanely militaristic and jingoistic russia is.
(the Azeri/Armenian war gets almost no attention)