Summary
Trump and Zelenskyy’s confrontational Oval Office meeting advanced “mob boss foreign policy” serving Russian interests.
Trump and Vance bullied Zelenskyy when he refused their “extortionate” minerals deal or to thank them despite Trump’s stated intent to reduce support for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy effectively countered their claims by noting Russia’s 2014 invasion and correcting historical inaccuracies, which angered the Americans.
This represents the first openly “anti-US, anti-Western, anti-democracy foreign policy in American history.” Russians embraced it, and Putin ally and former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev celebrated the exchange.
There’s a history behind it. For most of Ukraine’s history, it was under Soviet control. In 1991, over 90% of Ukrainians voted for independence, and Gorbachev agreed, but with the condition that NATO wouldn’t expand past Germany—NATO agreed. Russia accepted democracy at its doorstep in exchange for that promise. What happened to Thatcher and Baker’s promise?
Later, Yeltsin sought NATO membership to foster closer relations, but NATO didn’t respond. NATO’s military expansion seemed aimed at Russia, and without Russia, there’d be no need for that military buildup.
In 2000, Putin sought NATO membership again, but NATO ignored him. After 9/11, Putin supported the U.S., sharing intelligence, allowing airspace and military bases. But after the U.S. destabilized Iraq, Putin grew wary of NATO’s expansion into Russia’s sphere. This war with Ukraine could have been avoided—Russia, Ukraine, and the U.S. could have negotiated. Stop believing the media.
NATO not expanding eastward was never put to paper. No one ever officially signed off on it, nor was it ever an official decree. It was never anything more than words of appeasement. Russia “agreed to democracy on its doorstep” because they were going through a regime collapse and were a tad preoccupied with preventing the collapse from going further. Even if they had kicked up a storm about it, what were they gonna do? The breakaway nations weren’t going to just unpack their bags and stay with the abusive ex cause the ex said they can’t leave. Russia would’ve had to suppress them militarily once again, and they didn’t have the resources to do that.
NATO expanding eastward was because the former Soviet bloc countries wanted it. Because if you’ve regained your independence (for some of them it wasn’t even the first time) from an aggressive neighboring nation, would you not wish to protect it with the means available to you? If Poland and the Baltics believed that, for the first time in centuries, Russia would stop doing Russia things, would they have sought to join? Because the only reason they’ve been spared Ukraine’s fate is that Russia was in no position to execute militarily when those countries were accepted into NATO. And look at us now, thirty some years later, Russia is doing Russia things.
Yes Putin sought NATO membership, but NATO was formed as a check on Soviet aggression, so that’s a nonstarter. Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, and they thought they’d cakewalk into Ukraine as well. There’s no slant where Russia is the good guy in this. You sound like a propaganda machine.