[adevx]

The US doesn't want a strong Russia. Looking at the US track record of invading Iraq, destabilize Lebanon and Yemen, I can see why Russia is protective of its borders.

"It’s also the only side doing anything threatening." NATO and US forces have been creeping up since 30 years and the buffer zone that once existed is pretty much gone short of Belarus. I'm not rooting for Russia but I can see why they are on edge given the history and tactics of the US.

There is often a complete lack of seeing things from the Russian perspective.

[dragonwriter]

> There is often a complete lack of seeing things from the Russian perspective.

...you say after rephrasing the exact hegemonic sphere of influence argument described as the Russian goal in the post you are responding to.

Understanding why Putin wants Lebensraum doesn't make that desire a justification for invading and occupying neighbors anymore than understanding why Hitler wanted it did.

(And understanding that the US committed unjustified aggression in Iraq in 2003 doesn't justify Russian aggression against Ukraine because yada yada NATO yada yada in the same way that Iraq’s aggression in 1990 doesn't justify aggression against them directly, not merely someone connected by alliance, in 2003.)

[PodWaver]

Oh come on. Don't try comparing modern Russia to Nazi Germany. The reason for the tension is simple and you just need to look at it from other side. If Russia made a coalition in South America that would be spanning into mexico, US would act the same way. I see the argument that Russia deserves to be looked down upon because it's a threat to nations around it, but the same can be said about the US. US is no stranger to invasions of nations in South America or even brutal economic domination of them. What Russia is doing is your standard and even rational geopolitics.

[dragonwriter]

> The reason for the tension is simple and you just need to look at it from other side. If Russia made a coalition in South America that would be spanning into mexico, US would act the same way.

Even if one were to agree that that were true, it wouldn't be a justification. Customary international law, the UN Charter, and the multilateral treaty Russia signed on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine do not admit to any “unless they make friends with people we don’t like” exception.

Whataboutism—and even moreso hypothetical counterfactual whataboutism—doesn’t change that. This is an extension of the ongoing crime of aggression being committed by Russia against Ukraine, for which Russia is solely responsible and culpable.

[hackerbeat]

Agreed. Also, Russia has been attacked 3 times in its history already: Napoleon, Wilhelm II + Hitler, despite there being buffer zones back then. And peace is never eternal.