...And up is down, night is day, etc. The reality is that under Obama, Russia took a chunk of Ukraine called Crimea. Under Biden, Russia is threatening on taking another chunk of Ukraine called Donbas. In the period between Obama and Biden, Russia was very quiet. This wasn't coincidence and Trump's disdain for NATO was a big piece of it.
Ukraine applied to join NATO while Dubya was in office. The European members of NATO spearheaded by Germany and France blocked it. Russia threatened to take Crimea in 2014 and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko pleaded to the US in 2014 for weapons. Obama famously refused to send any weapons Ukraine could use to fend off the invasion and Russia quickly took Crimea, but do you know why Obama refused to send weapons? It was again because of European NATO countries spearheaded by Germany pressuring the United States.
Germany runs on Russian fossil fuels and that gives Russia a heavy hand in deciding what Germany does which in turn gives Russia influence on NATO. Trump's attacks on NATO and specifically calling out Germany for freeloading on NATO is why Russia was quiet. Under Trump, Russia's ace-up-the-sleeve was worthless. Now we have articles claiming that Trump caused all this dangerous peace and hooray for Biden being here to save the world by restoring Putin-Russian aggression to pre-Trump levels.
Fiona Hill may be totally in line with US State Department priorities or agenda, but like many in here she will push those agenda/priorities at the expense of the facts. Continued US aversion to realities means we lose credibility worldwide and leadership overall.
The principle of avoiding the imposition of unwanted rule across the globe under any name is what makes respected leadership, more than swaggering around with conspicuous power. Especially whendoing stuff that is just jplain stupid.
Fiona Hill and most of our policy big shots are just that stupid.
Besides being liars.
Putin will not undermine Zelensky. Zelensky is independent, but he is not an overt fascist. He was popularly elected based largely on Ukranian people's ideas of what is good for them. Zelensky can hold on to the Russian minority if he will just negotiatge an end to the genocidal campaign against them, which is largely being pushed by Western-allied military honchos who haven't been replaced since the former fascist government was voted out. But it is questionable if Zelensky can divert them to a peace settlement.
It looks like Russian people in the eastern two provinces are more likely to evacuate and just settle in Russia. If this is the way things go, Russia may take some strategic areas near their Black Sea bases and encourage the Russian ethnic evacuees to settle there. If an area can be established for these people which they can adequately defend, it will not become part of Russia. Crimea might be included in a settlement or treaty to create a new state for that minority. I don't think they put Russia as their preference for the future. They just want peace. A place, and peace.
If Zelensky can keep his military from becoming aggressive, this will not become any kind of war.
Our news and establishment liars have always represented the conflict as something Russia has underwritten. I don't think so. I don't think the Russian ethnic minority there wants to be part of Russia, I don't think Putin wants to antagonize those people with taking over the area.
Putin wants an end to the NATO expansion in his borders, and a secure Black Sea port and bases. In a sense he is taking a position to defend Russia proper against Western Aggression. China has his back. We can't afford to aggravate the situation. It is questionable if even NATO countries really want to be with us in this.