US has no good options in Ukraine

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Erdogan had a phone call with Putin and these are his 4 demands for a cease fire:

• Ukraine to be neutral, no NATO membership
• Disarmament
• De-Nazification
• Zelensky agreeing negotiations on Donbas with Putin

https://twitter.com/ragipsoylu/status/1504793432052666368?s=20&t=Ehjiem5GqGA2cbUTX-kfdg

I guess no one has the guts to tell the Big Guy he's losing.

This is easy enough to do. Both save face.

1 is easy, wouldn’t have happened anyway
2 means no foreign military bases in the country. It can keep its army.
3 can be a meaningless ritual like a decree banning nazi ideology and display or smth
4 is de facto reality, just needs documentation

Done.

Russia also wants Ukraine to recognize Crimea as part of Russia, which Ukraine understandably *really* does not want to do.

Crimea is gone. Zelensky knows it’s gone.

Oh I know it is. And part of the reason is because Crimea was never really part of Ukraine historically. [/b]It had been part of the Russian Empire for hundreds of years[b], until the Turks briefly took it. Then Khrushchev gave it to the Ukrainian SSR. The people in Crimea honestly do consider themselves primarily Russian.

So yeah — that’s not to excuse Putin taking it. No one should be annexing parts of sovereign states. But it’s a bit different in terms of what the people there want than trying to do anything with western Ukraine.

Any country that starts making claims like this is not fit to be part of the modern world. We are not going to entertain ancient territorial claims and we are not going to be redrawing borders, this has to be a firm line in the sand.

The invasion of Crimea set a terrible precedent that should have been handled swiftly.

So why are you applauding Israel? Why Eritrea? Why the split of Sudan?

We? Why are you a part of this discussion? I don’t think anyone is really asking for you to bless this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, it looks like Russia has rallied and Ukraine is being pounded. How long can this go on?

No what I am hearing. Targeting civilians when there are armed combatants around and you are having supplies issues is stupid. Many of these Russian units will be wiped.

[Anonymous]

Great article by Schwarzenegger. I wondered if, because of his father’s experience, he would have something to say to Russia’s troops.

I’m not sure if anyone in Russia has access to this, but here is the great article for all who can read it:
https://apple.news/AdQ5p6djaRAesG2mW_pfq9w

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
From CNN live updates:

US President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "pure thug" while speaking at a St. Patrick's Day event Thursday.

https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-03-17-22/index.html

Highly undiplomatic... but perfectly true.

He also called him a war criminal yesterday. Telling it like it is.

Agree that Putin is a blatant war criminal, but Biden is as well. Voted for Iraq and Afghanistan wars which whether you like it or not were essentially the same
thing Putin is doing — “the regime is [anti-democracy / nazis] and they have [weapons of mass destruction / biolabs]”. Also has been arming Ukrainian nationalists and sent CIA to train them in their battle against Donbas separatists. Armed the Free Syria Army against Assad and many of the weapons ended up in ISIS hands. Supported bloody Libya coup. Not to mention all the drone strikes under Biden and Obama. Prolific, prolific war criminal just like Putin. Both men will burn in hell because there is nothing more shameful than sowing death and destruction during your time on earth.

To be fair, all US presidents have overseen foreign military adventures--covert or otherwise--resulting in death and destruction. As a nation, we were founded through violence and we promote our interests abroad with violence. We are also the world's largest arms dealer, not to mention the country with the most armed citizens (but that's a whole other subject). So Biden is just one more in a long line of presidents who have exerted American power through violent means.

Yep. I guess the founding fathers are war criminals, too, and are roasting in hell right now.

And so is Abraham Lincoln.

One key difference between Lincoln and Putin is that Putin waited 30 years after Ukraine's separation from Russia to attempt to pull them back into the fold, while Lincoln to action immediately. But that doesn't change the fact that Lincoln has a lot of blood on his hands -- yet we consider him one of our greatest presidents .. perhaps the greatest of all.

It is interesting that some leaders who have attempted to expand their territory are considered evil, while others are heroes. What is the criteria for determining which expansionist leader is a hero and which is a monster?

Catherine the Great conquered that land—Novorossiya. Immediately before that, it wasn’t part of Russia. In Lincoln’s case the enslaver states were not another country. In the case of Putin, Ukraine is a country with an established government, president and people.

Do we consider Lincoln one of our greatest presidents? I thought just Trump did, because he sure talked about Lincoln a lot.

If the US (Bush and Condoleeza Rice) had not said that Ukraine would become part of NATO one day, maybe this war would not have happened.

I agree with your final point. I believe Bush and Rice made a serious mistake indicating that Ukraine could eventually enter NATO. This created fear in Russia, political divisions in Ukraine, and an illusory goal that never really had a serious chance of becoming reality.

We can only speculate, but perhaps Russian internal politics might have evolved in a more benign direction had the West never floated the idea of Ukraine entering NATO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
From CNN live updates:

US President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "pure thug" while speaking at a St. Patrick's Day event Thursday.

https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-03-17-22/index.html

Highly undiplomatic... but perfectly true.

He also called him a war criminal yesterday. Telling it like it is.

Agree that Putin is a blatant war criminal, but Biden is as well. Voted for Iraq and Afghanistan wars which whether you like it or not were essentially the same
thing Putin is doing — “the regime is [anti-democracy / nazis] and they have [weapons of mass destruction / biolabs]”. Also has been arming Ukrainian nationalists and sent CIA to train them in their battle against Donbas separatists. Armed the Free Syria Army against Assad and many of the weapons ended up in ISIS hands. Supported bloody Libya coup. Not to mention all the drone strikes under Biden and Obama. Prolific, prolific war criminal just like Putin. Both men will burn in hell because there is nothing more shameful than sowing death and destruction during your time on earth.

To be fair, all US presidents have overseen foreign military adventures--covert or otherwise--resulting in death and destruction. As a nation, we were founded through violence and we promote our interests abroad with violence. We are also the world's largest arms dealer, not to mention the country with the most armed citizens (but that's a whole other subject). So Biden is just one more in a long line of presidents who have exerted American power through violent means.

Yep. I guess the founding fathers are war criminals, too, and are roasting in hell right now.

And so is Abraham Lincoln.

One key difference between Lincoln and Putin is that Putin waited 30 years after Ukraine's separation from Russia to attempt to pull them back into the fold, while Lincoln to action immediately. But that doesn't change the fact that Lincoln has a lot of blood on his hands -- yet we consider him one of our greatest presidents .. perhaps the greatest of all.

It is interesting that some leaders who have attempted to expand their territory are considered evil, while others are heroes. What is the criteria for determining which expansionist leader is a hero and which is a monster?

Catherine the Great conquered that land—Novorossiya. Immediately before that, it wasn’t part of Russia. In Lincoln’s case the enslaver states were not another country. In the case of Putin, Ukraine is a country with an established government, president and people.

Do we consider Lincoln one of our greatest presidents? I thought just Trump did, because he sure talked about Lincoln a lot.

If the US (Bush and Condoleeza Rice) had not said that Ukraine would become part of NATO one day, maybe this war would not have happened.

I agree with your final point. I believe Bush and Rice made a serious mistake indicating that Ukraine could eventually enter NATO. This created fear in Russia, political divisions in Ukraine, and an illusory goal that never really had a serious chance of becoming reality.

We can only speculate, but perhaps Russian internal politics might have evolved in a more benign direction had the West never floated the idea of Ukraine entering NATO.

What a load of conservative BS - repeating Putin’s propaganda. Putin is pathetic dictator( much like Trump and his republicans followers). Putin will alway blame his victims for his actions. Putin hates America and it’s democratic system of government. He sees free people in the Ukraine as something that must be destroyed. He has said this over and over again. It has nothing to do with nato.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
From CNN live updates:

US President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "pure thug" while speaking at a St. Patrick's Day event Thursday.

https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-03-17-22/index.html

Highly undiplomatic... but perfectly true.

He also called him a war criminal yesterday. Telling it like it is.

Agree that Putin is a blatant war criminal, but Biden is as well. Voted for Iraq and Afghanistan wars which whether you like it or not were essentially the same
thing Putin is doing — “the regime is [anti-democracy / nazis] and they have [weapons of mass destruction / biolabs]”. Also has been arming Ukrainian nationalists and sent CIA to train them in their battle against Donbas separatists. Armed the Free Syria Army against Assad and many of the weapons ended up in ISIS hands. Supported bloody Libya coup. Not to mention all the drone strikes under Biden and Obama. Prolific, prolific war criminal just like Putin. Both men will burn in hell because there is nothing more shameful than sowing death and destruction during your time on earth.

To be fair, all US presidents have overseen foreign military adventures--covert or otherwise--resulting in death and destruction. As a nation, we were founded through violence and we promote our interests abroad with violence. We are also the world's largest arms dealer, not to mention the country with the most armed citizens (but that's a whole other subject). So Biden is just one more in a long line of presidents who have exerted American power through violent means.

Yep. I guess the founding fathers are war criminals, too, and are roasting in hell right now.

And so is Abraham Lincoln.

One key difference between Lincoln and Putin is that Putin waited 30 years after Ukraine's separation from Russia to attempt to pull them back into the fold, while Lincoln to action immediately. But that doesn't change the fact that Lincoln has a lot of blood on his hands -- yet we consider him one of our greatest presidents .. perhaps the greatest of all.

It is interesting that some leaders who have attempted to expand their territory are considered evil, while others are heroes. What is the criteria for determining which expansionist leader is a hero and which is a monster?

Catherine the Great conquered that land—Novorossiya. Immediately before that, it wasn’t part of Russia. In Lincoln’s case the enslaver states were not another country. In the case of Putin, Ukraine is a country with an established government, president and people.

Do we consider Lincoln one of our greatest presidents? I thought just Trump did, because he sure talked about Lincoln a lot.

If the US (Bush and Condoleeza Rice) had not said that Ukraine would become part of NATO one day, maybe this war would not have happened.

I agree with your final point. I believe Bush and Rice made a serious mistake indicating that Ukraine could eventually enter NATO. This created fear in Russia, political divisions in Ukraine, and an illusory goal that never really had a serious chance of becoming reality.

We can only speculate, but perhaps Russian internal politics might have evolved in a more benign direction had the West never floated the idea of Ukraine entering NATO.

What a load of conservative BS - repeating Putin’s propaganda. Putin is pathetic dictator( much like Trump and his republicans followers). Putin will alway blame his victims for his actions. Putin hates America and it’s democratic system of government. He sees free people in the Ukraine as something that must be destroyed. He has said this over and over again. It has nothing to do with nato.

LOL. You accuse the pp of "conservative BS" then you have the audacity to say the bolded.
What a joke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
From CNN live updates:

US President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "pure thug" while speaking at a St. Patrick's Day event Thursday.

https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-03-17-22/index.html

Highly undiplomatic... but perfectly true.

He also called him a war criminal yesterday. Telling it like it is.

Agree that Putin is a blatant war criminal, but Biden is as well. Voted for Iraq and Afghanistan wars which whether you like it or not were essentially the same
thing Putin is doing — “the regime is [anti-democracy / nazis] and they have [weapons of mass destruction / biolabs]”. Also has been arming Ukrainian nationalists and sent CIA to train them in their battle against Donbas separatists. Armed the Free Syria Army against Assad and many of the weapons ended up in ISIS hands. Supported bloody Libya coup. Not to mention all the drone strikes under Biden and Obama. Prolific, prolific war criminal just like Putin. Both men will burn in hell because there is nothing more shameful than sowing death and destruction during your time on earth.

To be fair, all US presidents have overseen foreign military adventures--covert or otherwise--resulting in death and destruction. As a nation, we were founded through violence and we promote our interests abroad with violence. We are also the world's largest arms dealer, not to mention the country with the most armed citizens (but that's a whole other subject). So Biden is just one more in a long line of presidents who have exerted American power through violent means.

Yep. I guess the founding fathers are war criminals, too, and are roasting in hell right now.

And so is Abraham Lincoln.

One key difference between Lincoln and Putin is that Putin waited 30 years after Ukraine's separation from Russia to attempt to pull them back into the fold, while Lincoln to action immediately. But that doesn't change the fact that Lincoln has a lot of blood on his hands -- yet we consider him one of our greatest presidents .. perhaps the greatest of all.

It is interesting that some leaders who have attempted to expand their territory are considered evil, while others are heroes. What is the criteria for determining which expansionist leader is a hero and which is a monster?

Catherine the Great conquered that land—Novorossiya. Immediately before that, it wasn’t part of Russia. In Lincoln’s case the enslaver states were not another country. In the case of Putin, Ukraine is a country with an established government, president and people.

Do we consider Lincoln one of our greatest presidents? I thought just Trump did, because he sure talked about Lincoln a lot.

If the US (Bush and Condoleeza Rice) had not said that Ukraine would become part of NATO one day, maybe this war would not have happened.

I agree with your final point. I believe Bush and Rice made a serious mistake indicating that Ukraine could eventually enter NATO. This created fear in Russia, political divisions in Ukraine, and an illusory goal that never really had a serious chance of becoming reality.

We can only speculate, but perhaps Russian internal politics might have evolved in a more benign direction had the West never floated the idea of Ukraine entering NATO.

You don't think it has more to do with Biden's previous support for Ukraine to join NATO?

At the time, Biden was expressing support for expanding NATO's presence in the Balkans by adding Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia as members. He also championed setting Ukraine and Georgia on a path toward NATO membership. Russian troops, under Putin's orders, would go on to invade Georgia just months later in August 2008.

As vice president in 2009, Biden said that the US supported Ukraine's move to join NATO — regardless of objections from Russia.

https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-helped-nato-expand-in-the-90s-which-putin-now-threatening-war-over-2022-2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
From CNN live updates:

US President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "pure thug" while speaking at a St. Patrick's Day event Thursday.

https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-03-17-22/index.html

Highly undiplomatic... but perfectly true.

He also called him a war criminal yesterday. Telling it like it is.

Agree that Putin is a blatant war criminal, but Biden is as well. Voted for Iraq and Afghanistan wars which whether you like it or not were essentially the same
thing Putin is doing — “the regime is [anti-democracy / nazis] and they have [weapons of mass destruction / biolabs]”. Also has been arming Ukrainian nationalists and sent CIA to train them in their battle against Donbas separatists. Armed the Free Syria Army against Assad and many of the weapons ended up in ISIS hands. Supported bloody Libya coup. Not to mention all the drone strikes under Biden and Obama. Prolific, prolific war criminal just like Putin. Both men will burn in hell because there is nothing more shameful than sowing death and destruction during your time on earth.

To be fair, all US presidents have overseen foreign military adventures--covert or otherwise--resulting in death and destruction. As a nation, we were founded through violence and we promote our interests abroad with violence. We are also the world's largest arms dealer, not to mention the country with the most armed citizens (but that's a whole other subject). So Biden is just one more in a long line of presidents who have exerted American power through violent means.

Yep. I guess the founding fathers are war criminals, too, and are roasting in hell right now.

And so is Abraham Lincoln.

One key difference between Lincoln and Putin is that Putin waited 30 years after Ukraine's separation from Russia to attempt to pull them back into the fold, while Lincoln to action immediately. But that doesn't change the fact that Lincoln has a lot of blood on his hands -- yet we consider him one of our greatest presidents .. perhaps the greatest of all.

It is interesting that some leaders who have attempted to expand their territory are considered evil, while others are heroes. What is the criteria for determining which expansionist leader is a hero and which is a monster?

Catherine the Great conquered that land—Novorossiya. Immediately before that, it wasn’t part of Russia. In Lincoln’s case the enslaver states were not another country. In the case of Putin, Ukraine is a country with an established government, president and people.

Do we consider Lincoln one of our greatest presidents? I thought just Trump did, because he sure talked about Lincoln a lot.

If the US (Bush and Condoleeza Rice) had not said that Ukraine would become part of NATO one day, maybe this war would not have happened.

I agree with your final point. I believe Bush and Rice made a serious mistake indicating that Ukraine could eventually enter NATO. This created fear in Russia, political divisions in Ukraine, and an illusory goal that never really had a serious chance of becoming reality.

We can only speculate, but perhaps Russian internal politics might have evolved in a more benign direction had the West never floated the idea of Ukraine entering NATO.

What a load of conservative BS - repeating Putin’s propaganda. Putin is pathetic dictator( much like Trump and his republicans followers). Putin will alway blame his victims for his actions. Putin hates America and it’s democratic system of government. He sees free people in the Ukraine as something that must be destroyed. He has said this over and over again. It has nothing to do with nato.

It’s a legend created for external consumption that Ukrainians as people are so different from Russians. Most Russians and Ukrainians grew up eating the same foods, watching the same movies, reading the same books. It’s hard to tell them apart even for the locals. One is not uniquely free and the other is not uniquely dictatorial. The personalities of leadership and external factors guided them in different directions. If you don’t believe me, look up corruption indices of both pre war and compare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
From CNN live updates:

US President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "pure thug" while speaking at a St. Patrick's Day event Thursday.

https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-03-17-22/index.html

Highly undiplomatic... but perfectly true.

He also called him a war criminal yesterday. Telling it like it is.

Agree that Putin is a blatant war criminal, but Biden is as well. Voted for Iraq and Afghanistan wars which whether you like it or not were essentially the same
thing Putin is doing — “the regime is [anti-democracy / nazis] and they have [weapons of mass destruction / biolabs]”. Also has been arming Ukrainian nationalists and sent CIA to train them in their battle against Donbas separatists. Armed the Free Syria Army against Assad and many of the weapons ended up in ISIS hands. Supported bloody Libya coup. Not to mention all the drone strikes under Biden and Obama. Prolific, prolific war criminal just like Putin. Both men will burn in hell because there is nothing more shameful than sowing death and destruction during your time on earth.

To be fair, all US presidents have overseen foreign military adventures--covert or otherwise--resulting in death and destruction. As a nation, we were founded through violence and we promote our interests abroad with violence. We are also the world's largest arms dealer, not to mention the country with the most armed citizens (but that's a whole other subject). So Biden is just one more in a long line of presidents who have exerted American power through violent means.

Yep. I guess the founding fathers are war criminals, too, and are roasting in hell right now.

And so is Abraham Lincoln.

One key difference between Lincoln and Putin is that Putin waited 30 years after Ukraine's separation from Russia to attempt to pull them back into the fold, while Lincoln to action immediately. But that doesn't change the fact that Lincoln has a lot of blood on his hands -- yet we consider him one of our greatest presidents .. perhaps the greatest of all.

It is interesting that some leaders who have attempted to expand their territory are considered evil, while others are heroes. What is the criteria for determining which expansionist leader is a hero and which is a monster?

Catherine the Great conquered that land—Novorossiya. Immediately before that, it wasn’t part of Russia. In Lincoln’s case the enslaver states were not another country. In the case of Putin, Ukraine is a country with an established government, president and people.

Do we consider Lincoln one of our greatest presidents? I thought just Trump did, because he sure talked about Lincoln a lot.

If the US (Bush and Condoleeza Rice) had not said that Ukraine would become part of NATO one day, maybe this war would not have happened.

I agree with your final point. I believe Bush and Rice made a serious mistake indicating that Ukraine could eventually enter NATO. This created fear in Russia, political divisions in Ukraine, and an illusory goal that never really had a serious chance of becoming reality.

We can only speculate, but perhaps Russian internal politics might have evolved in a more benign direction had the West never floated the idea of Ukraine entering NATO.

What a load of conservative BS - repeating Putin’s propaganda. Putin is pathetic dictator( much like Trump and his republicans followers). Putin will alway blame his victims for his actions. Putin hates America and it’s democratic system of government. He sees free people in the Ukraine as something that must be destroyed. He has said this over and over again. It has nothing to do with nato.

It’s a legend created for external consumption that Ukrainians as people are so different from Russians. Most Russians and Ukrainians grew up eating the same foods, watching the same movies, reading the same books. It’s hard to tell them apart even for the locals. One is not uniquely free and the other is not uniquely dictatorial. The personalities of leadership and external factors guided them in different directions. If you don’t believe me, look up corruption indices of both pre war and compare.

You could say the exact same thing about Americans and Canadians, but it wouldn’t come close to excusing an unprovoked military attack, and the deliberate murder of children hiding in a theater marked “children.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
From CNN live updates:

US President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "pure thug" while speaking at a St. Patrick's Day event Thursday.

https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-03-17-22/index.html

Highly undiplomatic... but perfectly true.

He also called him a war criminal yesterday. Telling it like it is.

Agree that Putin is a blatant war criminal, but Biden is as well. Voted for Iraq and Afghanistan wars which whether you like it or not were essentially the same
thing Putin is doing — “the regime is [anti-democracy / nazis] and they have [weapons of mass destruction / biolabs]”. Also has been arming Ukrainian nationalists and sent CIA to train them in their battle against Donbas separatists. Armed the Free Syria Army against Assad and many of the weapons ended up in ISIS hands. Supported bloody Libya coup. Not to mention all the drone strikes under Biden and Obama. Prolific, prolific war criminal just like Putin. Both men will burn in hell because there is nothing more shameful than sowing death and destruction during your time on earth.

To be fair, all US presidents have overseen foreign military adventures--covert or otherwise--resulting in death and destruction. As a nation, we were founded through violence and we promote our interests abroad with violence. We are also the world's largest arms dealer, not to mention the country with the most armed citizens (but that's a whole other subject). So Biden is just one more in a long line of presidents who have exerted American power through violent means.

Yep. I guess the founding fathers are war criminals, too, and are roasting in hell right now.

And so is Abraham Lincoln.

One key difference between Lincoln and Putin is that Putin waited 30 years after Ukraine's separation from Russia to attempt to pull them back into the fold, while Lincoln to action immediately. But that doesn't change the fact that Lincoln has a lot of blood on his hands -- yet we consider him one of our greatest presidents .. perhaps the greatest of all.

It is interesting that some leaders who have attempted to expand their territory are considered evil, while others are heroes. What is the criteria for determining which expansionist leader is a hero and which is a monster?

Catherine the Great conquered that land—Novorossiya. Immediately before that, it wasn’t part of Russia. In Lincoln’s case the enslaver states were not another country. In the case of Putin, Ukraine is a country with an established government, president and people.

Do we consider Lincoln one of our greatest presidents? I thought just Trump did, because he sure talked about Lincoln a lot.

If the US (Bush and Condoleeza Rice) had not said that Ukraine would become part of NATO one day, maybe this war would not have happened.

I agree with your final point. I believe Bush and Rice made a serious mistake indicating that Ukraine could eventually enter NATO. This created fear in Russia, political divisions in Ukraine, and an illusory goal that never really had a serious chance of becoming reality.

We can only speculate, but perhaps Russian internal politics might have evolved in a more benign direction had the West never floated the idea of Ukraine entering NATO.

What a load of conservative BS - repeating Putin’s propaganda. Putin is pathetic dictator( much like Trump and his republicans followers). Putin will alway blame his victims for his actions. Putin hates America and it’s democratic system of government. He sees free people in the Ukraine as something that must be destroyed. He has said this over and over again. It has nothing to do with nato.

It’s a legend created for external consumption that Ukrainians as people are so different from Russians. Most Russians and Ukrainians grew up eating the same foods, watching the same movies, reading the same books. It’s hard to tell them apart even for the locals. One is not uniquely free and the other is not uniquely dictatorial. The personalities of leadership and external factors guided them in different directions. If you don’t believe me, look up corruption indices of both pre war and compare.

You could say the exact same thing about Americans and Canadians, but it wouldn’t come close to excusing an unprovoked military attack, and the deliberate murder of children hiding in a theater marked “children.”

Who said anything about excuses? Similar people can live in separate countries. And vice versa, Russia has areas with people who are entirely dissimilar to Russians in culture, language and religion. This is a different matter. I only point out the fact that Russians and Ukrainians are not naturally free or naturally dictatorial. Whatever one can do, the other can as well.

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, it looks like Russia has rallied and Ukraine is being pounded. How long can this go on?

No what I am hearing. Targeting civilians when there are armed combatants around and you are having supplies issues is stupid. Many of these Russian units will be wiped.

“Google is your friend” as they say on DCUM. Zelensky is desperate for a peace agreement, don’t blame him.

[Anonymous]

Interesting point of view:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/theweek.com/politics/1011048/peace-in-ukraine-is-worth-putins-price%3famp

“American hawks — from lawmakers and foreign-policy experts to randos on Twitter — seem to think the war in Ukraine is some kind of Marvel movie in which the only acceptable outcome is good guys win, bad guys lose. They puff out their chests and pontificate about the valiant Ukrainian people fighting to the last man. Question them, and they'll start making noises about Neville Chamberlain and "appeasement."

What they fail to understand is that "appeasement" is when you accede to demands in order to avoid conflict. It shows the bully he can have whatever he wants without risking his own skin. If Zelensky had made the deal before the invasion, that would be appeasement. But he didn't.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, it looks like Russia has rallied and Ukraine is being pounded. How long can this go on?

No what I am hearing. Targeting civilians when there are armed combatants around and you are having supplies issues is stupid. Many of these Russian units will be wiped.

“Google is your friend” as they say on DCUM. Zelensky is desperate for a peace agreement, don’t blame him.

https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-03-19-22/h_4996f0a6e1650e0283b41000f3750e54

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I am scared for their safety.