Quote (ofthevoid @ Jan 28 2022 10:28am)
We (the US) keep expanding eastward towards Russia, putting weapons, missile systems, creating military alliances in the name of peace and cooperation since 1995. Ukraine is the line in the sand for Russians. Most Ukrainians don't want anything to do with war but the decisions are being made by rich bought for oligarchs & politicians who at the first sign of danger will be in the UK/US. They (Russia) simply won't allow for Ukraine to become another soldier in the NATO march towards Russia.
I doubt actual war breaks out because we've already made it clear we won't help militarily and none of the other Euros would step in, because that would be a literal declaration of war on Russia and honestly they're all scared of Russia and are decades behind militarily. The country with the biggest pull also has way too much to lose. Germany basically runs the EU and they get so much of their energy from Russia that it would be catastrophic and probably throw the Eurozone in a deep recession if war ever breaks out.
But to take a step back, the real winner here is China. They are the real number one threat and we are idiots for trying to encroach on Russia with literally nothing to gain. They (Russia) aren't our equal globally anymore but for us to waste resources focusing on Europe is pretty idiotic.
NATO is purely defensive so the Russians have nothing to worry about. One day, I hope Russia joins NATO so that we can keep China in check. Russia is just upset that they are losing another puppet state but that's how things go when your empire goes to shit. Plus, we have dozens of submarines that are capable of launching multiple nuclear weapons a mile off the coast line and it's been like that for decades.
I agree that war is unlikely to break out. It's important that the US and her allies stay strong though because China is watching. If Russia can act with impunity, China will likely follow suit and they are MUCH harder to punish economically because the entire world relies on them.