"the Ukrainian parliament adopted a “non-bloc” resolution in 2010. In 2014 Ukraine was officially a neutral state, and Kyiv did not have any intention to join NATO. But this clearly didn’t diminish Putin’s ambitions to divide and rule Ukraine. Russia went ahead with its military aggression and annexed Crimea."
This is beyond dishonest. You left out what happened in 2014, when the US helped overthrow that democratically elected neutral government to install a pro Western one. That's when Putin annexed the Crimea.
The rest of the article is glib neocon warlust and juvenile good and evil fantasies.
Remind us again your basis for believing the US overthrew the gov in 2014? I believe when I last asked you cited "Lots of chatter in 2014, just enough of it above the waterline to make fairly confident guesses at the iceberg below."
I agree that the political revolt in the meantime was an important event. But I see it as an example of Putin not accepting Ukraine setting its own course. Ukraine wanted to be in the EU, and he won't accept it; he invaded Crimea in response to Ukraine not complying with his wishes.
The rules-based international order IS a moral order. But it is also a practical one. It doesn't depend on divine intervention ('good and evil fantasies') just a coalition with sufficient common interests.
I said helped, not did it entirely. You had Victoria Nuland, the US assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs, literally handing out cookies to the insurrectionists. Can you imagine if a similarly high official in Putin's government had been handing out cookies on 1/6? And that wasn't even a real coup. You have her on tape considering candidates and picking out the next Ukrainian prime minster with the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Geoffey Pyatt, while Yanukovych is still the lawful leader of the country.
My, what minor details the author decided to leave out! Ukraine had a US supported (and almost certainly facilitated) coup that toppled its democratically elected government for being not hostile enough to Russia, and that fact is not even in dispute! What were you saying again about the deeply moral rules-based international order?
The West is soft, decadent, corrupt, and worse hates itself. A set of societies where thinking that women and men are actually different is "unworthy of respect in a democratic society" is finished.
We should send all the TRAs to the Ukraine / Russia border. They can teach the Russians about the importance of Zhe, Zir, and other personal pronouns. No doubt, Putin will call back the Russian army immediately.
The US can't / won't defend its own borders... But the border between Russia and the Ukraine is worth any amount of American blood and treasure... No thanks.
Hi Natia, can you please share the source of the casualty statistics you mention in "Russia launched a bigger military offensive with the annexation of Crimea in 2014, which took the lives of over 13,000 Ukrainians. "? Thank you
If we fight Russia over the Ukraine, why would nukes not be exchanged, like we feared they would be during the Cold War?
Exactly. How anyone can reasonably disagree with this is beyond me. Perhaps only those who forget the histories of both Putin and other dictators.
We can take issue with the author's flagrant dishonesty, just for starters.
"the Ukrainian parliament adopted a “non-bloc” resolution in 2010. In 2014 Ukraine was officially a neutral state, and Kyiv did not have any intention to join NATO. But this clearly didn’t diminish Putin’s ambitions to divide and rule Ukraine. Russia went ahead with its military aggression and annexed Crimea."
This is beyond dishonest. You left out what happened in 2014, when the US helped overthrow that democratically elected neutral government to install a pro Western one. That's when Putin annexed the Crimea.
The rest of the article is glib neocon warlust and juvenile good and evil fantasies.
Remind us again your basis for believing the US overthrew the gov in 2014? I believe when I last asked you cited "Lots of chatter in 2014, just enough of it above the waterline to make fairly confident guesses at the iceberg below."
I agree that the political revolt in the meantime was an important event. But I see it as an example of Putin not accepting Ukraine setting its own course. Ukraine wanted to be in the EU, and he won't accept it; he invaded Crimea in response to Ukraine not complying with his wishes.
The rules-based international order IS a moral order. But it is also a practical one. It doesn't depend on divine intervention ('good and evil fantasies') just a coalition with sufficient common interests.
I said helped, not did it entirely. You had Victoria Nuland, the US assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs, literally handing out cookies to the insurrectionists. Can you imagine if a similarly high official in Putin's government had been handing out cookies on 1/6? And that wasn't even a real coup. You have her on tape considering candidates and picking out the next Ukrainian prime minster with the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Geoffey Pyatt, while Yanukovych is still the lawful leader of the country.
My, what minor details the author decided to leave out! Ukraine had a US supported (and almost certainly facilitated) coup that toppled its democratically elected government for being not hostile enough to Russia, and that fact is not even in dispute! What were you saying again about the deeply moral rules-based international order?
The West is soft, decadent, corrupt, and worse hates itself. A set of societies where thinking that women and men are actually different is "unworthy of respect in a democratic society" is finished.
We should send all the TRAs to the Ukraine / Russia border. They can teach the Russians about the importance of Zhe, Zir, and other personal pronouns. No doubt, Putin will call back the Russian army immediately.
The US can't / won't defend its own borders... But the border between Russia and the Ukraine is worth any amount of American blood and treasure... No thanks.
Hi Natia, can you please share the source of the casualty statistics you mention in "Russia launched a bigger military offensive with the annexation of Crimea in 2014, which took the lives of over 13,000 Ukrainians. "? Thank you
I looked up the actual numbers for the Russian invasion of Crimea. She is only off by a factor of roughly 5,000.