Russian Invasion of Ukraine

But some key facts are missing in the article. Including the fact that the pro-Russian government was responsible for the revolution in 2014 over weakening links to the EU. The police then opened fire on protestors, killing 100 of the them. Around that time, then then pro-Russian President fled to start a new independent republic, and when that didn’t happen fled entirely to Russia. So the ‘Western backed coup’ line doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.

But neither does the NATO encroachment argument. Especially, when as a counterweight, Russia has been encroaching on adjacent lands for years. Beyond Crimea, Russia had invaded small pockets of Ukraine before 2008, and lands in adjacent countries. Moldova and Georgia both have ‘separatists’ at play, and they are all very much Russian backed and Russian funded, while Russia plays off regions against each other in a divide and conquer approach.

The provocation argument doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Not least because, in a political scientific sense it’s to be noted that it was very predictable who, in the public sphere would argue this point, and it is those who believe that America is bad and responsible for every I’ll that happens in the world.