The war in Ukraine was not ‘unprovoked’

 via Daily Star

There is no fairy tale end to the war in Ukraine, in which Ukraine defeats Russia on the battlefield and then joins Nato. The war can end with a safe and secure Ukraine, indeed with Ukraine a member of the European Union. But it cannot end with Ukraine in Nato. Russia has fought the war over that issue, and could possibly escalate to a nuclear war to avoid Nato enlargement to Ukraine.

A lie the West tells itself is that the war was "unprovoked." The word "unprovoked" is invoked incessantly, in President Joe Biden's major speech on the first-year anniversary of the war, in Nato statements, and in the media. TheNew York Times editorial pages alone have included at least 26 editorials, opinion columns and op-ed pieces that have described the Russian invasion as "unprovoked."

Yet, the war and Russian invasion were provoked by the issue of Nato enlargement, just as leading US diplomats had warned about for decades.

Here 

The war is bad enough but Zelensky and now even the head of NATO are making noises about them joining the organization.

This is how you either escalate what's going on now to unimaginable levels OR you make a 2 year war into a forever war.

So many are cheering this thing on that NO ONE in power is thinking about an off ramp.

Zelensky is the pampered prince right now and from a position of weakness seems to be dictating terms to his benefactors.

I said seems.

I don't know what the plan is but if the idea is ultimately regime change in Moscow then that dog don't hunt.

We're setting ourselves up for worst case scenarios because leadership is not thinking.