He's turned in to a proper wank stain of a man. FFK Him.
Yeah its horrific. I will say though, its not the first time its happened this century by any stretch of the imagination. Aleppo in Syria for instance was pretty much flattened. Then going back to the 90s, Sarajevo and Dubrovnik.
Well I mean if Kev thinks its a special military operation then maybe it is? He is a tactical genius after all, identified Russia's plan of attacking from East, West, South and North from day 1.
People rely on their leaders to keep them safe. Zelenskyy knew what the outcome of refusing to back down on NATO/neutrality etc would be, and that has happened. He is now open to negotiations. I think diplomacy has to be used at all cost to first and foremost keep people safe. Instead, Ukraine are plunged into war without perhaps the physical backing Zelenskyy expected.
Diplomacy works but only if you are negotiating with a side acting in good faith, aka not Russia. Russia's demands of Ukraine were very unrealistic and I wouldn't have accepted them if I was Zelenskyy.
If NATO was categorically off the table with no western forces stationed in Ukraine, neutrality guaranteed and certain terms regarding Crimea agreed, would this be happening? It will be interesting to see what terms look like if any negotiation is agreed, and if this in fact could have been agreed before how many thousand have died. The west has a huge role to play in this with it’s legitimising of Putin and Russia’s corruption. I just think that short term destruction should have been a priority to stop with then a subsequent shift on how to deal with Russia explored. I’m just not convinced Zelenskyy has truly acted in the best interest of his people by not being open to diplomacy to begin with.
I think it would still have happened as its not as simple as Russia being scared of Ukraine joining NATO. They are also scared of Ukraine joining the EU + Putin views Ukraine as rightfully Russian anyway and Ukrainians as Russians who have been led astray.
I don’t know how sure we can be that Putin would have invaded regardless of assurances if NATO etc. I think he is using the Ukraine as Russia’s rightful land to get Russian citizens on board more than an actual justification to invade. This has a lot to do with the geopolitical makeup of NATO’s relationship with ex-soviet states, and Russia wanting a clear distinction between them. Again, I just think more could have been done.
The reason Eastern European countries want to join NATO is purely down to Russia continuing to interfere in their affairs. Its not fair really to just deny Ukraine membership of NATO or the EU, as this war is entirely Russias doing.