I was about to accuse you of the same, but let us skip that and head to your arguments.
"It seems 'blaming' is the only thing you're reasonably good at.
1) No promises were made to not expand NATO
2) No one forced a country to join NATO.
NATO expansion is not merely a 'voluntary choice'—it's ignoring the oral agreements of the 1990s (Gorbachev, Baker) and the principle of 'no eastward expansion.' See the declassified talks in the George Washington University National Security Archive. The bombings of Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Iran are direct proof of the threat, and frankly, of aggression.
Let me remind you: Many, many people in Eastern Europe despise Russia as a country for being under the yoke of the USSR. They joined for a reason. Russia is once again proving the necessity of NATO.
The same applies to Britain and its former colonies. This is likely why Latvia holds solemn processions for Latvian SS legionnaires in its capital, Riga—where Russians make up at least 35% of the population—while imposing language restrictions in education, media, and government structures. Every 10th Russian speaker has the status of a so-called 'non-citizen.'
Was it as a big of an insult as the awful sectarian violence the Balkans experienced ? NATO made peace. Russia did not.
Classic Orwell:
'War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength.'
Yugoslavia, like many other countries (see the list above), should be 'grateful.'
...which conveniently leaves out the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) of the two nations. Items are relatively cheaper in Russia due to cheaper labor, materials, and looser restrictions.
Russia’s 2024 Military Spending Surpassed EU, U.K. Combined in PPP Terms – Study - The Moscow Times
Russia’s military spending in 2024, when adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP), exceeded that of the European Union and the United Kingdom combined by nearly $5 billion, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said Wednesday.
www.themoscowtimes.com
How convenient to cite 2024 while ignoring previous years and the structural crisis in the military-industrial complex and armed forces after the USSR's collapse. The alliance received $2 trillion in military investments after 2014—further comparisons are simply meaningless.
Regardless of the relative budgets, should the Allied nations in WW2 shed a tear for Nazi Germany when the German military budget was dwarfed by the Allied powers ? I suspect not.
I believe so, yes, since the main hostilities occurred on the Eastern Front (70%), where the USSR's GDP was
more than 3 times smaller than the Third Reich's.
Yanokovich tossed a pro European economic agreement on Putins orders. This led to Maidan. There was no conspiracy to remove him by outside powers (spare me the picture of Nuland handing out cookies, I have heard that line a thousand times). Few people cared about Ukraine one way or another until Putin stoked the sectarian violence by having elements of 8th Guards Army enter the fray on the separatists part.
Maidan is a classic regime-change technology. Yanukovych’s refusal of the EU association agreement (Russia being Ukraine’s main trade partner) was merely the trigger. Consider:
Nuland’s leaked call with the US ambassador,
NGO funding via USAID,
McCain’s direct calls for protests,
Decades of media propaganda.
en.wikipedia.org
.
Oh, you didnt know about that ?
Strelkov only got involved after repeated requests from influential politicians and businessmen from eastern Ukraine, who were impressed by the success of the Crimea operation.
Oh sure, thats why the US has 5-6 fully staffed divisions in Poland and eastern europe. <---- more sarcasm.
The US goal is to create a buffer zone of allied states along Russia’s European border. Only Belarus held out (after the failed 2021 protests).
Let me clue you in to the west here: No one cares to invade Russia. Russia is under no threat from the US or Europe (seriously, how many European nations can field a single fully staffed combat brigade ?)
As we have hopefully established, trusting verbal assurances from Western (and not only Western) politicians makes no sense.
What do we actually have:
Expansion right up to Russia's borders after 1991
Deployment of missile defense systems in Romania/Poland
Conducting military exercises, establishing military bases
Supporting color revolutions in countries bordering Russia
Russia stole Crimea (go ahead and justify that, I dare you) and the world did nothing.
I will say it again: No one is going to invade Russia. No one. Well, maybe the Chinese in a few years.
Tell me about the 'horrors of occupation'—as someone who lived in Crimea for 13 years, I’m genuinely curious.
That would explain the massive economic trading between the EU and Russia before 2022.
You know, the trade that Putin killed ?
Sorry, you are spouting conspiracy theories with nothing to back them up.
Open support for an armed coup in Ukraine, refusal to negotiate, and complete disregard for Russia’s legitimate interests—
this is provocation aimed at inciting conflict.
The US sabotaged
Nord Stream 2 and projects like the Renault-AvtoVAZ alliance. The goal isn’t 'defending democracy'—it’s blocking the 'EU + Russia + China' integration. Economic sanctions since 2014.
