“If NATO hadn’t expanded, we wouldn’t have this problem!”
Just say you see Eastern Europeans as cannon fodder to keep your Western life comfortable, fuckface.
iF nAtO hAdNt eXpAnDeD
There’s this magnificent piece on American and Western European pundits westsplaining Ukraine and Eastern Europe in general and treating our countries like we’re the playthings of two empires, without any agency, or like kids of divorced parents with no say about who gets custody of them. I mean who would think puny Eastern European countries would actively strive to join NATO, it must all be some eeeevul plot by the CIA, right?
Now why would they want to join? I don’t know, maybe there’s this imperialistic state right next door that they just managed to break away from, a state that’s still treating them like colonies it wishes to reclaim, installs puppet regimes, slaves out those countries’ politics and economy to its own oligarchs and constantly undermines their effort to join a more democratic community that can help them move past the authoritarianism said state instilled?
Murders journalists, poisons opposition, shoots down charter planes, “solves” hostage crisis by murdering everyone… LeTs NoT pRoVoKe, just let putler claim half of Europe back!
For me, it was not even a shock. Because, professionally, I have been following and dealing with so many Russia-related issues. And I’ve been working for the government of Ukraine since 1993.
It was only logical what happened that night because the whole sequence of events for the last 30 years was leading to the point where Russia, in their mindset, came to the conclusion that whatever they do, you guys would not really be able to stop them.
You’ve always been closing your eyes on everything. They occupy (Transnistria) of Moldova. You close your eyes. They invade Georgia. You close your eyes. They bomb Syria. You close your eyes. They do ugly things in Central African Republic and in Mali. You close your eyes. They help North Korea. They help other rogue governments. You close your eyes.
And now you are surprised.
Putin has been in power for 20-plus years. It’s all our guilt.
Some governments were complacent because they had commercial interests. Some governments were complacent because they believe that they are so far away that whatever happens would not impact them.
Zelensky, yesterday: “The world has not seen such barbarism in 80 years. It will be in history books. Little kids will stand up and tell their teachers where ruscism – рашизм – [neologism mixing Russia + fascism] began, and who won in the war against this terrible thing.”
“What did Nazis achieve when they occupied Europe? Everyone hated them. And the second and third generations, who are not even to blame, feel their guilt. The Russians will achieve the same.”
Ruscism – Russian fascism.Russia, unequivocally, is a fascist state now.
