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The only proxy forces in this war have been the "people's militias" I partly agree with you - what you mentioned were the Ukrainian proxy backed by the Russians. The west had their own Ukrainian political leaders that they backed who also worked to divide the country. This is why I blame the Ukrainian leaders, first and foremost, for this mess - they couldn't unite their country, and allowed foreign meddling. One leader sought help from Russia, one from UK / NATO and now from US / EU to consolidate power. In the Angela Merkel interview that I have shared above, she too points this out:
> Merkel: First, Ukraine wasn't the Ukraine we know now. Politically, Ukraine was deeply divided between Yanukovych and Yushchenko, and even the reformers Tymoshenko and Yushchenko didn't like each other ...
When a nation is not united, it is easy to exploit it, and that is what the western superpowers and Russia did in Ukraine. The west was more successful here as the western backed coup managed to overthrow the democratically elected Russian friendly (I wouldn't call him a Russian stooge) leader. They then immediately branded all parties and leaders perceived as anti-west as "enemies" and either banned them, jailed them or exiled them. Then, after eliminating all competition, they held a "democratic election" which was hailed by the west as the "most democratic" in Ukraine's history while it created a permanent schism between the East Ukraine and West Ukraine.
Russia recognized the coup for what it was - a foreign backed coup - and so immediately annexed Crimea (to protect its own military interests).
Zelensky was elected on a platform to unite the people. He too failed, partly due to his inexperience and also because he followed the same destructive policies (guided by the west to whom he is beholden), like his predecessors that ignored Ukraine's history and culture and trying to end multiculturalism. He in fact exacerbated the issue by using violence against East Ukrainians, triggering a civil war. As Putin saw Zelensky's political actions were increasingly guided by the west, and increasingly militant, and he had no interest in a rapprochement with Russia, he escalated, which finally resulted in the illegal invasion of Ukraine.
(And now West Ukraine has a militia compromised of unmarked members of western armed forces, security services, and people under their direct control, with whom Zelensky too has to contend).
- Instead of a rapid advance toward Kyiv, Russian ground forces were met by fierce Ukrainian resistance ...
I agree that the initial Ukrainian resistance was good, and completely unanticipated by the Russians. The direct intelligence provided by NATO was also very helpful to slowdown the Russian invasion. All that said, a major reason for Russians dropping the advance towards Kiev, and later tactically withdrawing,, was because of request for urgent negotiations by the west and Ukraine. Remember that the first diplomatic negotiation took place just 4 days after the war, and one of the western pre-conditions to this was that negotiations shouldn't happen with the barrel of a gun to the face (i.e. Kiev surrounded) and required the Russians to withdraw, which the Russians partially complied with because they arrogantly and foolishly thought the negotiations would happen in good-faith and in their favour.
- Good of you to mention bullying ...
Oh, I am not defending Russia when it comes to such things. Even my own country gave in to the Russian demands to not vote in the UN resolution. (That was a cowardice on the part of the Modi government - the Russian invasion of Ukraine was illegal, by international laws, and India should have upheld that principle). My point remains that western superpowers are no different from Russia or China in this, and so the west does not have any moral ground to claim superiority here.
- RT is trash-tier propaganda outlet ...
As is any media outlet, funded by the government, like the BBC, NPR, DW or PressTV. When everyone is doing propaganda, all we can do is analyse the facts based on which the propaganda is crafted. Facts are facts, and only the propaganda around it differ. Civilians are killed (collateral damage) by the actions of both sides. Fact. And both sides deliberately claim that civilians are deliberately targeted. Propaganda. I don't believe either Zelensky nor Putin is deliberately targeting civilians, as it isn't in their interest. Neither of them is an extremist or a fundamentalist like Netanyahu, for example, who is actually indulging in a genocide.
- Russia demanded the right to place troops into Poland and expected the French and the British to coerce the Polish government into accepting it ..
And was it the right call from a military perspective, to fight Hitler's army? Obviously, Yes. Everyone knew that Germany (and Hitler) wanted Russia. And there were only so many fronts from which the German army could advance towards Russia. Remember that this was not the first war Russia was fighting against an invading army, especially the Germans.
- Poland was naturally opposed to the presence of foreign soldiers on their soil, out of fear that the troops would never leave. History proved them correct.
No, history did not prove them correct. No one can confidently say that if Poland had acquiesced to Russian terms to provide right of way to the Russian military, and for a stage hold territory, backed by British and the French guarantees of sovereignty, Soviet Russia would not have withdrawn after defeating the Germans. It would have disrupted the new alliance and potentially made war with the British and the French a reality.
- Stalin was simply shopping around for a way to exploit the looming German-Polish war and gain an opportunity to invade Poland.
That's all bullshit and a modern excuse. Stalin's main concern was always Hitler and Germany, for historical reasons. Sure, like any other superpower, USSR was also interested in expanding their Sphere of Influence, but they were just as pragmatic about it as the French or the British (i.e. they would try to do it without warfare). Every political move the USSR took during, and after, WW2 was based because of the initial hostility of the western superpowers to an alliance with it, and then because of the hostilities towards it post-WW2 (resulting in the cold war). To blame everything on the Russians, is just western hubris and propaganda. European superpowers are just as much to blame, then, as they are now for renewed hostilities with the Russians.
As Fico once said:
> We have our own experience with Munich in 1938, when the powers bound to us by treaty deceived us, betrayed us and served us up to Hitler like a roasted chicken. ( https://x.com/RobertFicoSVK/status/2101382211370893658 )
That is also a fact. But your predictable response to this would be sidestep the facts (that this was typical superpower politics) and say, "Oh no, he is a Putin / Russian stooge" (at some point, this kind of propaganda gets really tiring).
- National governments were replaced with communist dictatorships under Russian control ...
Again, you disregard west's own hostility towards USSR in taking those actions. I also find it funny how quick the west is to attack any kind of "revolution" that is against their own interest, but to quickly praise similar "revolution" whose leaders are aligned to the west - "My dictators are ok, only yours are bad!". Today, you in the west have no problem with the US invading Venezuela and violating its sovereignty, or supporting and defending a genocide by your allies in Gaza, or killing children in Iran, or fully backing and whitewashing a "revolution" in Ukraine that overthrew a democratically elected leader ... all that is ok for you. But, at the same time, you also want us to think that the only "evil" in this world is your enemy (the Russians) ... like I said, all this kind of propaganda has become tiring to us in the Global South.
It is also very clear that the western superpowers wrongly thought that Russia was weak and could be conquered and divided amongst themselves. And Ukraine was the proxy they used to test it. You westerners prove that with your cowardice in not fighting alongside the Ukrainians ... If the west wants to preach from a moral high ground, the west needs to display the very ethical and moral values that they espouse. Sadly, they don't.
- Only morons go around yapping about "Russian security concerns" when Russia itself is the main threat to peace and security in Europe. ...
You guys are like the bullies that humiliate and provoke someone weaker repeatedly. And when they one day fight back and hurt you, go crying to your mama that you are the real victim.
> it was agreed in Helsinki that using force to violate territorial integrity and redraw European borders was unacceptable conduct for any European state.
And ofcourse, you guys have always upheld that, have you? (cough NATO invasions cough). Look up every western action against another country that was done without UN approval - it's all illegal to the rest of the world. Like I said, you guys have no moral standing to preach to the rest ...