https://flip.it/t-Ydhj Putin's allies abandon him over Ukraine invasion. Again, this has nothing to do with West vs East. It's democracy vs dictatorship.
It is just wrong to mix politics and military affairs with human life and culture exchanges. What Ukraine thing has to do with soccer matches and music concerts? All this only make the world to more extremes. Look back at the 1990 Tiananman. And 2014 Crimea. None of those sanctions really work out. Nothing was achieved. And Europeans still happily buy Russian energy. All this will only speed up the de-coupling.
It does not matter until, China invades Taiwan. They will grab the semiconductor factories of Taiwan and dominate the South China Seas. US has focused all its attention on Russia, while our politicians all sellout US technology to China, allow Chinese spies to steal military secrets on top of that. China has clones of the top US fighter jets plus hypersonic missiles they developed. I doubt the US will defend Taiwan and risk war with China.
The difference now is that Putin is losing his fucking mind by claiming that by invading Ukraine, he is saving the country from Neo-Nazis. Seems to me he has inhaled too much horse-paste vapor to cure his constant Covid infection.
In regular times, yes. In "cold war", yes it is wrong. This is not "cold war". This is naked military aggression, an unprovoked invasion of a neighboring country, and yes, isolating Russia completely, financially, diplomatically and, very importantly, culturally, is very much called for.
Had Ukraine not insisted on NATO membership and remained neutral, it would have saved a lot of lives, avoided the huge destruction it is now experiencing. Russia will make sure they are out of NATO now.
Yes it will, and maybe Russians will get angry enough to topple the oligarchy and call for a total reform of the political economy.
The problem is that all politicians mis-calculate. Russia clearly considers Ukraine joining NATO as its existential threat. Just like Hitler taking Poland and stationed army on its border. So the Empire struck. So NATO and Ukraine just gave Russia the reason to invade. Clearly nukes are always the threat with any existential threat. West knew that so well. This is why West does not want to fight Russians for Ukraine. It is the thread of WW III and the nuke weapons.
I talked to a few of the people I still keep in touch with in Russia. They are depressed, baffled, bewildered and completely dispirited by the, for them, inexplicable insane stupidity and naked aggression of their leadership. They insist that this is the feeling of the majority. I don't know if it is. But if it is, they only have one way of digging the way out of the hole that Putin put Russia in. Topple Putin, withdraw the military, apologize profusely and pay reparations. Russia and Russians will hopefully not be welcome in the civilized world otherwise.
If you look at the damn map, you'll know. It is unthinkable for Ukraine to join NATO and have NATO missiles deep near the heart of Russia. It is the existential threat. This is something James Baker swore that US would never do it.