> we've been playing pretty nicely with Russia these days
Last President was quite the fan if I recall.
Trump flattered Putin publicly, but his policies were never sympathetic to Russia.
Ooof. That's an... interesting twist on the facts.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/12/i-would-like-you-to-do-us-a-...
"Zelenskiy chatted about how he wanted to 'drain the swamp' in Kyiv and how he wished the European Union would provide more financial support. He told Trump that Ukraine was ready to buy more Javelin anti-tank missiles from the United States. The next 10 words that came out of Trump’s mouth — 'I would like you to do us a favor, though' — are what triggered the House impeachment inquiry that has imperiled his presidency."
https://www.businessinsider.com/republicans-leaving-out-key-...
"At the time, Trump had placed roughly $400 million of congressionally-approved security assistance to Ukraine on hold, and the president is accused of dangling the aid over Zelensky as part of a broad scheme to pressure him into launching the investigations. The aid was ultimately released on September 11, less than a week after three House committees launched investigations into his administration's efforts to pressure Ukraine to help his reelection campaign."
As for the mercenary incident, Americans came under attack by Syrian forces that included Russians. It was by no means a planned op. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/24/world/middleeast/american...
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/14/us/politics/nato-presiden...
> Senior administration officials told The New York Times that several times over the course of 2018, Mr. Trump privately said he wanted to withdraw from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Current and former officials who support the alliance said they feared Mr. Trump could return to his threat as allied military spending continued to lag behind the goals the president had set.
> In the days around a tumultuous NATO summit meeting last summer, they said, Mr. Trump told his top national security officials that he did not see the point of the military alliance, which he presented as a drain on the United States.
It's a little hard to see that as something Putin would've been mad about.
USA relations with Russia have in general been pretty schizophrenic. Minor sanctions after the Georgia occupation, "Reset button" politics by the Obama administration, larger scale sanctions after the Ukraine Crimea occupation, Trump fighting additional sanctions.
Let's not forget Biden caught flak for actually waiving sanctions on Russia before he flipped into his current role as strong man.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/biden-com...
> which is 100% his fault with no justification despite any provocation
is at odds with your overall argument.
How would the US react if, for example, China were planning to station troops and equipment in Canada?
(I’m not trying to justify Putin’s actions here; just trying to understand the perspective).
NATO members, as stable democracies, have zero interest in going into war with a nuclear power like Russia. Even now at the peak of tensions, every NATO member has repeatedly publicly pledged that no NATO troops will be involved in conflict.
The idea that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is Russia acting to protect itself is the height of silliness.
The better explanation for this war is much simpler: Putin has traditionally received a bump in approval ratings after his prior wars and was desperate for another boost after a long and harsh two years dealing with COVID-19.
Only in the sense that “not abandoning Eastern Europe so that Putin can invade or intimidate with threat of invasion with no plausible check” constitutes “antagonizing”.