I know about Holodomor, and I can't click on that link because I'm not mentally prepared. I don't doubt Putin loves looking in the mirror and seeing himself as the global king, but as far as I can tell, Putin hasn't gone rogue. He needs the oligarchs and they need him, and things must be pretty dire in Russia. They knew the repercussions would be severe, but they did it anyway.

Russia won't be able to control the large population, and Ukrainians won't be conquered. I must be naïve because I really thought the US would negotiate with Putin and Russia's demands before it escalated, but maybe there was no hope of stopping the violence before it started.

Obviously, writing sternly worded emails to Russia is pointless, but I can't help my anger towards NATO, the EU, and the US. Ukrainians are dying and the world is shitting themself in nuclear fear, and there was nothing we could have done to avert the crisis? Ugh. I think too highly of humanity if I think diplomacy results in less hell.