This is a pretty contrary opinion to what we see in 99% of the media and posts.
So please read it with an open mind.
We really can’t put the blame fully on Russia and Putin. Now, this is something I have to explain and hear me out.
The inflection point of the war was when Ukraine was getting proactive in getting NATO membership.
And Russia has called in for talks and suggested discussions on this multiple times. The west and Ukraine just ignored it.
Now, if you look at why NATO was formed, this is the reason – ‘The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created in 1949 by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.
Now since we don’t have the Soviet Union, there’s no relevance for NATO.
But what do NATO operations look like recently?
NATO is expanding and trying to woo countries that are bordering Russia.
Russia has put conditions against this, which of course NATO didn’t consider well.
We have to also look at what Putin’s ideology is along with this NATO expansion.
His ideology is to bring in the old glory of the Soviet Union.
On the opposite end, NATO is over-extending its reach to the old Soviet countries.
Currently, seven of the old soviet countries are part of NATO.
But why does Russia go into an aggressive mode for Ukraine intending to join NATO?
When you become part of NATO, you’re in a way providing access to NATO to establish their military bases and units in your country in the name of combating global military threats.
So, if Ukraine becomes part of NATO, the US or a majority of the EU countries or Australia can set up their military bases in Ukraine.
Remember, Ukraine shares a 2000 km border with Russia.
Ukraine joining NATO is a direct threat to Russia.
And that’s the reason why Russia is so adamant about this stand.
It is a dire situation for Russia if Ukraine too becomes a part of NATO. And since the current scenario is moving this way, Russia acted for its self-interest.
Now, you might possibly think about this – Ukraine is an independent country.
It has the right to take its own decision. Maybe, but not at the cost of such a threat to Russia.
We know how the US and the allies have been imposing sanctions on Russia when it takes an unpopular stand.
I just want you to think about this.
Does the US approve of Russia coming into an agreement with Canada and setting up military bases and units there? I don’t think so.
Now, I’m in no way supporting Russia and its atrocities.
I feel for the Ukrainian people.
And war is in no way a solution to any kind of problems we ever have.
A war could have been easily avoided, if we could have approached the situation carefully, freeing people of their misery.
All I’m trying to do is look at the situation in a logical manner.
In a way, Russia and Putin, even though Russians don’t have much say in this, are forced to go on this war. And a major reason is NATO.
I’m not really sure about what was going on in the Ukrainian leadership’s mind back then while taking such a stand.
Probably, they thought that NATO would back them up, but that never happened.
The reason being, it becomes a full-fledged war in that case.
I could only think of Ukraine becoming a pawn in this game.
From their standpoint, it is better for them to be part of the EU and NATO from a trade perspective.
But from a cultural perspective, Russia and Ukraine have more commonalities than we could ever imagine.
A lot of families have their roots common in each of these countries.
Ukraine is slowly realizing this fact and is reconsidering its stand on joining NATO.
You can see this take in the mainstream media, but of course with a different spin altogether.
Now, you may ask who is winning this game(not the war – there are no winners in a war, only losers).
Russia is winning the war if you look at the goals they’re trying to achieve.
Also, NATO is winning too. They’ve now got a new purpose to stand for.
You don’t believe me, look at how things are changing now for NATO.
A majority of voters in Sweden and Finland, who earlier polled against joining NATO, are warming up to the idea of joining NATO – all because of this war.
Also, remotely related to this topic, I’m pissed at the mainstream media which doesn’t bring out the real facts and logic.
Look at what all of them have become – propaganda machines.
And, I’m clearly staying off the lines on how some of the major companies are behaving in this crisis.
Most of them feel pressured to take up certain policies, completely unaware of the geopolitical situation in this crisis.
Standalone instances are rare, there’ll most probably be underlying reasons.
That’s true in this case as well.
As a disclaimer, I’m not ensuring here that I’m fully right.
But I’m at least trying to look at things from a logical standpoint.
And that’s exactly what I urge all of you to do.
Appreciate you taking the time to understand my perspective on this topic.
PS – There are a ton of other factors that are playing in this scenario, but wanted to put out my thoughts on a major one.