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Russian forces invade Ukraine after Putin orders attack

reuters.com

171–180 of 1001 posts

Re: Russian forces invade Ukraine after Putin orders attack

#171
This whole action makes no sense to me. I do not understand Putin's motivation here. I can't see an economic or political justification.

The only reason I can think of is that he just yearns for more power regardless of the costs.

Can anyone provide any possible reasons Putin would have for doing this?

Re: Russian forces invade Ukraine after Putin orders attack

#172
post #54

Quoted post unavailable.

I wouldn't expect many people here to know who John Mearsheimer is and honestly the conversation appears to be that you must unequivocally support what the U.S. and West in general have done or else you're some kind of Russian propagandist/puppet.

Re: Russian forces invade Ukraine after Putin orders attack

#173
post #26

I've worked at tech companies that despise helping the US military. Please understand that the world is complex and although all superpowers have done terrible things, helping the US is the only way our children will live in a peaceful world. This isn't about democrats or republicans, the future of humanity will be decided in the next decade.

Nuclear proliferation, like it or not, has done more for global peace than US military/trade hegemony. Ukraine gave up all its nukes in the 90s which is why this is happening now.

Ukraine did not have the ability to launch a single nuke. They didn't give up anything.

Re: Russian forces invade Ukraine after Putin orders attack

#174
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it was looking for a little while like the West might make peace with Russia. In the post collapse of the Soviet Union, Billionaire Oligarchs emerged that controlled most of the business and finance while the Russian population was extremely poor.

When the Russian judicial system went after a few of them, and specifically Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the US immediately started to sanction Russia.

Since then I've lived through years of the West accusing Russia of interfering in democracy, and just endless nonsense propaganda, like blaming Putin for Trump winning the election. Zero self reflection on them interfering in Russia.

While I support Ukrainian independence, I understand why Putin would freak out about having a hostile neighbour backed by the West and capable of installing weapon systems within close Range of Moscow.

Re: Russian forces invade Ukraine after Putin orders attack

#175
post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stay safe, brother, my thoughts and prayers are with you. I'm Russian and wholeheartedly despise this outrageous war crime act of our so-called government.

If you are Russian in Russia right now I'd love to hear what the majority public sentiment in the country is.

Depends on where people live, how much do they make etc.

The general sentiment in this country for the past few decades is "it's not for me to decide".

Many people do agree however that while this kind of solution is not really a great one and likely not in our best interest - something has to be done regarding the NATO problem.

Re: Russian forces invade Ukraine after Putin orders attack

#176

To some extent this situation feels analogous to a street mugging happening in very slow motion The thug accosts the victim, threatens and then proceeds to assault the victim in full view of a large number of bystanders who are numerous enough to defend the victim and alter the outcome but not convicted enough to take on the inconvenience of doing so. Nevertheless all the bystanders voice words of encouragement and s…

When the thug has nuclear weapons, responses get a lot trickier.

The US has a major security advantage in terms of mutually assured destruction in that its home to many people from around the world. There are like tens of thousands of Americans living in all of Russia or China. Meanwhile, there are millions of both Russian and Chinese Americans in the U.S.. This provides safety. Good luck finding morale in your military after you've just told them to nuke millions of their own people.

Re: Russian forces invade Ukraine after Putin orders attack

#177
post #26

I've worked at tech companies that despise helping the US military. Please understand that the world is complex and although all superpowers have done terrible things, helping the US is the only way our children will live in a peaceful world. This isn't about democrats or republicans, the future of humanity will be decided in the next decade.

Nuclear proliferation, like it or not, has done more for global peace than US military/trade hegemony. Ukraine gave up all its nukes in the 90s which is why this is happening now.

I'm not convinced. Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Rwanda, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan again, Syria, Peru, Mali, ...

When you say "world peace", do you mean European peace? California peace? Where is your world?

Re: Russian forces invade Ukraine after Putin orders attack

#178
post #6

I just woke up to this news and I'm wondering if it's possible for Apple and Google to brick all Russian phones? This would probably be more effective on their population at large than any form of sanctions.

They can, but they will not. If they have any direct dealings with the Russian government then they should probably stop (which they probably already have to due to sanctions), but otherwise it's best for large corporations to stay out of geopolitics.

Re: Russian forces invade Ukraine after Putin orders attack

#179

I am for keeping Ukraine as a neutral buffer separating Russia and the US. NATO proposed Ukrainian and Georgian membership of NATO in 2005-2008, in the clear knowledge that this would destabilize the situation. France, Germany, and others were against this. The proposal began the issue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJBQikfYyKs We then openly backed the 2014 putsch in Kiev, an open act of aggression just as irrespo…

Will the people downvoting this comment mind telling me what is wrong with it? I'm not a Russian apologist, just a fan of history, and am trying to understand why so many people reject this narrative. edit: Now I am downvoted too just for asking..? This just makes me think that there is not a solid answer?

Nobody likes seeing Realpolitik in action. When you have been drip fed ideology about the LIO your whole life, it is very difficult to accept anything else. Unfortunately, today Thucydides wakes. It is unfortunate that international relations is not a part of the engineering curriculum of your typical HN user. Through the lens of realism, Ukraine is but another Cuban missile event. Pretending that joining NATO is a strictly defensive alliance and therefore more morally "right" will not change geopolitical realities. This is a failure of leadership on every side. Media soundbites and cool reprimands were chosen over recognising the harsh truth of Great Power politics. When it becomes more important to be an ardent defender of ideology on tiktok and television than to negotiate and compromise, this is what happens.
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