Well I believe in the right of nations for self determination. Ukraine has always been at odds with Russia, 300 years of Russia asserting themselves on them with Ukraine resisting.
That's not true for the east of Ukraine once Russian settlers went there....there has been Russians in east Ukraine for over a hundred years.....just as long as populations from other eastern countries in the west of Ukraine.
If you believe in self determination then you would have supported the uprising after 2014 or it should have least have given you pause. If you say it was Russian interference I'll accept that, however that same Russian interference doesn't work on central nor western Ukraine exactly for the reason that they have no connection to Russia, whereas the east of Ukraine does.
They had the government they elected overthrown and many people in East Ukraine have died fighting the new Ukrainian government for that self determination you talk about....all of those oblast's leaders support joining with Russia.
Now, you could argue that it wasn't self determination it was manipulated however (i) What isn't? We had Brexishit through manipulation, and tbh we have everything through it in some form or other due to vested interests/politics etc.
Valid points, however may I suggest that it's also missing that this also works in reverse.
The state department invested billions into the effort to drag Ukraine away from Russia.....Ukraine had literally elected a democratic government that was even slightly pro Russian and the US decided to work against that democracy for the purpose of pulling Ukraine away from Russia.
That isn't self determination and shouldn't be supported....it made the war just a matter of time.
Ukraine wasn't allowed to be sovereign or be neutral....there's literally audio recorded of Victoria Nuland (state department neocon) talking about who they want in the Ukrainian government to an official over there and the US came with big brown envelopes....evidently bigger than Russia's
(ii) Russia have had hundreds of years to get Ukraine onside and failed (iii)
You could say that about Ireland and Scotland or Wales.....Those are England's border countries...even France. Would we accept an oppositional country say Iran or Pakistan spending billions to help rid a currently slightly pro English government and replace it with an anti English one, which could then have weapons placed in it a few hours drive from our capital......I'd say we certainly wouldn't accept it.
Hell, we sent an army to France to fight the Germans once they invaded.
Russia could've just had better relations all round with the trade route as you suggest, but it is a huge criminal gang/considers itself a superpower/is a culturally viscious oligarchy.
If I remember Russia did have trade deals with Ukraine and like I say the 2014 democratically elected government was on the pro Russian side.....not anti EU but not anti Russian....it explored trade with the EU.
Truth is it can't dominate because it's weaker than the USA and China, anymore than we can dominate anymore. But they don't want to be the cucks - it's not disimilar to the UK downfall really, post WW1 hit us hard financially, and WW2 lost our grip on the Empire. We accepted it in the end.
I don't think we have accepted it.....those in Whitehall involve themselves massively in foreign affairs and wars far beyond our capacity spending billions we literally don't have....having to borrow to do it. Ukraine is a case in point.
Russia is in that period imo, the bankrupted themselves when they actually had to make weapons after a decade of bluffing, down with the wall and power, built themselves up a bit and now trying to get back....but they can't. This is their post WW2 moment if you like.
Ukraine is their border country and considering the US state department want to break Russia up into smaller states I'm not surprised at all that they consider this their WW2 moment. It's not inaccurate as inaction would have lead to further encroachment.
Why they invaded though? They just thought they could get it done and quick, and it wasn't a misjudgement at all because if you recall the EU didn't react (UK did, they'd prepped and sent out NLAWs etc to the Ukranians) - it was ONLY when people appeared on the streets in Berlin in anger that the gutless politicians realised they had it wrong and stood up. Don't forget, Russia had already rolled into Georgia on a false flag unopposed in 2008.
Georgia is another border country that western influence was looking to turn.
You think that after spending billions on turning Ukraine that all the protests there were fully organic? I know I don't.
Why are we the UK and not just England? Because the Welsh were utterly subjugated 800 years ago, they've no interest in being a completely separate country because they know it won't work for them. The Scots went cap in hand to England after their failed Darian scheme bankrupted them, that's why they are in the Union, and RoI/NI is because of a vote (fair or free I don't care, it happened).
All our border countries have nationalist movements...Hell they run their assembly in Scotland.
Even in boomer Wales, a 2025 YouGov poll found that 46% of Welsh people have a favourable view of Plaid Cymru with the youth being the majority of that....as for Ireland....
Even if Russia take over Ukraine it'll always be Ukraine. They just happen to be in a long conflict of the kind that we were fighting out until 1707, and 1916
Slavs fighting slavs dude.....We have no issue being involved.
England
