[a city devasted by war, with smoke coming from ruined building, in which dead corpses are lying in pools of blood, is below the following text]
WORKING CLASS PEOPLE KILLING EACH OTHER IN AN ENDLESS WAR WHILE THE POOR GET POORER AND THE RICH GET RICHER
[a smug character points at the devastated city, while saying]
If you do not blindly and fully support this, then you are an evil person who wants others to die
Correct!
And what do we call this war then?
It’s… ?
A proxy war!
Between which parties? Between Russia and the North Atlantic countries led by the US.
And who is the proxy for the North Atlantic? Ukraine. And who is the proxy for Russia? There is none.
So Russia invaded a North Atlantic proxy with it’s own citizens. Why would it do this?
Correct. So when Russia says that they attacked Ukraine because the North Atlantic countries, led by the US, was using Ukraine as a proxy against Russia, do you acknowledge this to be true or do you believe that no such thing was happening and it’s just a cover story for 1 man to act out his megomaniacal fantasies against no real threat?
Because of Euro Maidan. Ukraine used to be Russia’s puppet, but, and I say as someone who’s actually been there, unlike most people who spew bullshit on Lemmy, they were tired of being poor and victim to corruption, and as such they wanted to move towards the ideal of prosperity and legality they saw in the EU. Was there some manipulation from western (CIA) intelligence? Probably, but that shit doesn’t take where the soil isn’t fertile, and that is the fault of Russia, they should have taken better care of their ally.
Russia couldn’t stand losing what they saw as their vassal, so they first took Crimea for the port there, and then started messing in Donbas. Then they thought “what the hell, these guys’ armed forces are nothing compared to ours, let’s just go for it!” and made the same stupid mistake most imperialists make, the same mistake the US seems poised to commit with Iran.
As if he were the first fascist to fabricate false claims in order to invade another country.
And in any case, whatever Putin’s claims may have been, nothing justifies an armed incursion into another country without a UN mandate, nor war crimes, nor the continued targeting of civilian infrastructure and the population.
Again, on the one hand, this thread correctly states “you can’t go and directly attack Russia, because it’s a nuclear power. You need a proxy”. And on the other hand when Putin says Ukraine was acting as the North Atlantic proxy and was a material threat to Russian national security you say “he’s just making shit up because he’s a fascist”.
Never does it occur to you that a fascist dictator motivated by fascism would not actually spend 3 years making zero progress when they have the 3rd largest military in the world. Never does it occur to you that Russia might have legitimate national security interests. Never does it occur to you that there is absolutely zero evidence in the intelligence analysis of all of the 5 Eyes that indicate Russia has been planning or intending or preparing to actually attack Europe and expand into an empire.
No. You just think that whoever fires the first shot is the bad guy and that’s the end of your ability and willingness to think.
Bull fucking shit.
Ukraine was no more a threat to Russian national security than Iran was a threat to US national security. Not at all.
So, again, we have on the one hand people saying “you can’t attack Russia directly because it’s got nukes, you have to use a proxy” and then when Russia says “Ukraine is the North Atlantic proxy” suddenly there’s no memory of the previous understanding and it’s actually a war solely between Russia and Ukraine and Ukraine couldn’t possibly be a threat.
Keep working the two points together. In order to attack Russia, the West needs a proxy. Russia said Ukraine was a threat. Ukraine wasn’t a threat, it’s just Russia being crazy. We have to stop Russia, but we can’t attack it directly, we need a proxy.
Around and around we go until, hopefully, you realize what it means for Ukraine to be a proxy. It would mean that the US was building logistics in the country. It would mean that the US was preparing to US Ukrainian soldiers to fight Russia. It would mean establishing lethal force under the guidance of the West within Ukrainian territory.
And what do we see? Joint Ukraine/NATO exercises beginning in the late fall of 2013. Increasing support for NATO among the right wing of Ukraine. An ascendant right wing in Ukraine spurred on by right wingers in the US. More joint NATO/Ukraine exercises, increasing in frequency, in scope, in lethality. Exercises simulating the invasion of Kaliningrad. Exercises for the interoperability of long-range missiles that would be used to attack deep into Russian territory.
Ukraine was never a threat to Russia, I agree. Ukraine was always a proxy of the West and the West was the threat to Russia. The West, using Ukraine as a proxy, was the threat, and Russia could not field a proxy in this situation, like they had when they were part of the USSR, partly because they are nowhere near as strong as the USSR and partly because this proxy is on their border and not 2 or 3 borders away. Russia had to fight this proxy war itself, directly, with its own people.
But you’ll keep turning round to “but Russia is the aggressor, they invaded, Ukraine wasn’t a threat” and I’ll bringing you to the top of the cycle: you can’t attack Russia directly because it has nukes, you have to use a proxy. Ukraine is that proxy. Russia claimed Ukraine is a proxy of the West and that this was dangerous for its national security, so it invaded. And you want to stop Russia, but you can’t attack them directly, because they have nukes, so you need a proxy. Ukraine is that proxy. And Russia said Ukraine is a proxy and therefore its a threat.
Ad nauseam. I’m so tired of this thought termination, this cognitive dissonance riding on Russophobia disguised as holy righteousness disguised as a moral high ground.