[flagged]
What's to say Russia won't wave the nuke card again, and again, if it worked the first time?
Also, do you ascribe any agency to the people of Ukraine? If they want to resist Russia, let them, I say.
And of course it's not out of altruism. (Well, some of the icing on the cake may be.)
It's because Russia is changing the status quo. That's a threat to the US. (And many other countries!)
Look: the Russian invasion sucks for everybody involved and in particular the Russian and Ukrainian civilians. War might be good for many things but at the very least it is not obviously good for politics. I think it’s not controversial to expect that Russian leadership would have much preferred to develop influence through significant mutually beneficial relations with its neighbors.
What is to be done however if at some point a third party with infinite resources is those neighbors to an impasse on topics of national security to Russia? And after this those third parties start arming those neighbors with advanced weapon systems? Exactly what do you expect the US would do in a similar situation?
People wishing that the war would stop are not simply siding with an invader or a bully. They are being practical and recognizing a legitimate grievance of the Russians. Unless your position is that we live in a world where nations are unequal wrt security expectations you have to acknowledge the reality that the Russians have a legitimate claim to be upset about.
This is completely false. "NATO encroachment" is a VERY recent talking point which is part of the neo-fascist narrative that Russia developed attempting to excuse its own inadequacies. You should google Foundations of Geopolitics which is basically a Russian version of Mein Kampf. This book is required reading for majority of Russian politicians, diplomats and high ranking military officials. Before Russia decided that it wanted to pursue a fascist state, NATO was not on its agenda at all.
In the U.K people are currently being jailed for years for mild social media posts. Hopefully the Axis of resistance will liberate the West. This American certainly hopes so.
Greater free speech huh? Let's see shall we:
72-year-old Russian woman sentenced to 5 years in prison for anti-war posts on social media [1] https://therecord.media/russian-woman-sentenced-to-prison-ov...
A Russian American Is Sentenced in Russia Over Social Media Posts [2] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/05/world/europe/russian-amer...
US-Russian dual national jailed for 12 years on treason charges for $52 donation to Ukraine [3] https://www.rochesterfirst.com/news/international/ap-us-russ...
Russian man whose daughter made anti-war painting sentenced to two years in prison [4] https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/28/europe/russian-man-sentenced-...
>This American certainly hopes so.
Press X for doubt on this one :)
Would you like to reconsider who has greater free speech rights?
American as apple pie. You're a hacker, see where the IP I'm commenting from is located. What hubris to think millions of Americans aren't completely fed up with this fascist empire. If you're still unsure, for 20 years now Congressional approval hasn't cracked 30%.
Claiming that Russia has greater free speech right is laughable. Maybe if you compare to North Korea...
Don't get me wrong, the United States wants the same for its citizens but our annoying Bill of Rights and Supreme Court have slowed the descent into tyranny.
One thing seems certain to me: we were never free. Those in power will do as they please. Here or in Russia it’s all the same.
Russia has its interests. It puts them above human rights. We have our interests and guess what we do the same.
Need I remind you that we fabricated reasons to invade Vietnam and Iraq and in the process we killed millions of civilians? Or do you need a list of all the governments we admit to have toppled over the years?
Our misguided belief that we occupy some moral high ground is objectively making the world a worse place. By our hands and by the fact that we are enabling other countries to act the same (eg Iran and Russia). How about instead we concretely define principles and standards that we apply uniformly? Why do we have to pretend like we are uniquely act with impunity on the global stage?
Are you talking about this stochastic terrorist who incited riots and called for the murder of hundreds of innocent people? [1] https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/aug/14/woma...
If yes, I think you are utterly delusional at this point.
Terms like "stochastic terrorism" are just linguistic tricks to fool the population into voluntarily relinquishing their civil rights.
As for the NATO enlargement narrative I don't know why people still try to push this when it's clear as water that Russia wants to annex more and more territory, even their conditions for ceasefire are mostly about Ukraine ceding territory to Russia.
And are you saying NATO can’t be enlarging because Russia wants to annex territory so that means NATO hasn’t been enlarging?
Its regime is exactly that delusional, yes.
Also don't you dare make them lose their temper.
Russia isn't under threat from NATO, as it's a defensive alliance. They seem to understand that as well, as they pulled their air defense systems from the region bordering Finland.
> I think people dont realize that the Russians are a super power.
The soviet union was a super power. If anything people realised that Russia's supposed power is mainly posturing.
And it was high time for that. In the past some western governments attempted a policy of appeasement - all it achieved was emboldening Russia.
Russia pop 145 million. GDP 2.24 Trillion.
Brazil, pop 205 million, GDP 1.92 Trillion.
Brazil isn't anyone's idea of a super power. Difference is Russia has or had a lot of Soviet cold war era weapons and weapons manufacturing. With the emphasis on the increasingly had.
So yes you are right. And I agree about the wife beater logic.
You are just parroting lies manufactured by russian propaganda. Here you go, read it from the source: http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/21598
I see you've never seen Estonia or Latvia on a map. Nor realize NATO is already there. Why have they not been invaded while since 2008, Georgia and Ukraine have? Total mystery.
Super power that cannot defend it's own borders during the hot war. I guess their superpower army too busy conquering Moon and Mars or far away galaxy.
And you know what's not happened when Ukraine started to capture Russia territory? Putin and his gang said nothing at all about nuclear weapons during last 10 days. Not even single hint even though he like to talk about them every time when his ass not in danger.
This is because they are criminals and bullies and these kind of people only understand force.
> A Ukrainian government that has refused to engage with its neighbor on topics that its neighbor claims are matters critical to its national security
If the "matters critical to its national security" involve unprovoked invading of other country, then it's good they don't care, even assuming your biased rhetoric has anything close to reality.
Thanks for bringing up the example.
MAD prevented WW3. What do you think happens if the US thinks it can cause significantly more harm to China and Russia through first strikes?
There's no evidence for the existence of such a plan.
And (prior to the invasion) there wasn't even an active plan to bring Ukraine into NATO. It was taken firmly off the table in 2008.
It's just a dictator lying to you, and his own people. It's what they do for breakfast.
This really shouldn't come as any kind of a surprise.
So what your are saying is a falsehood based on the current realities on the ground.
Which, specifically?
I suppose any of the thousands of regular aircraft that Ukraine has "could" deliver a nuclear payload. But that would be a pretty stupid way to launch a first strike, and doesn't change the MAD equation in any way.
It's incredible the convoluted things people tell themselves to explain away the simple and obvious reality:
The only reason Finland and Sweden joined NATO was because Russia invaded Ukraine and started a genocide, while threatening Finland and Sweden with the same (and nukes).
The option is to let Russia freely commit genocide with rape, murder, and terrorism.
Only to then steer their target to the next country and do exactly the same.