The "security concerns" are valid, and US foreign policy advisors, historians, etc., have stated this since the 90s. The US would never ever allow Russian or Chinese military bases along its border, and remember the Cuban missile crisis? Well, we had missiles in Turkey pointed at USSR first. The USSR used Cuba, the US used Turkey, and today, they're using Ukraine.
We believe we're the defenders of democracy, but the world doesn't want our repressive freedom. Ukraine's "right" to join NATO doesn't deny Russia's "rights," and NATO wasn't going to allow Ukraine to join anyway. It used Ukraine to gain power and significance, and the ploy worked.
We provoke nations, and we provoked this war. US officials stated hostile actions would instigate a war with Russia, and US intelligence knew the attack was coming. Russia and the US maintained communitication, but a day before the attacks, the US told Russia it wouldn't negotiate, and we still believe the conflict isn't between the super-powers?
Russia's military isn't as strong as the US, but if it somehow overtook the US military, what do you think is going to happen? Russia becomes the dominant economic power and pursues financial gains for corporate owners? Maybe it would sanction the US and we'd finally understand the cruelity we cast on innocent people, but god, I hope that never happens to anyone.
Russia leased ports in Crimea until 2042, and this agreement was made long before annexing Crimea.
The US built and funded Ukraine's bioweapon facility, and Victoria Nuland was recently interrogated by Congress about it. Ukraine has a neo-Nazi problem, but so does Russia, the US, Germany, etc. Ukraine's paramilitary are neo-Nazis (Azov Battalion), and they've been at war with Eastern Ukraine for almost a decade, but no one cared about those deaths. I don't know if Putin is sincere about denazification, but Ukraine's Nazi problem isn't something we should ignore.
If you look at the US objectively you'd see a crumbling empire desperately holding onto global hegemony. You believe the US is less evil and a better world leader than Russia, but billions in the Global South think otherwise. Read the India Times or any non-Western media to understand another perspective. Many developing countries actively protest US interventions, and the momentum is growing.
If you're wondering what this has to do with Russia invading Ukraine, think about which nations/industries benefit, and why the West would encourage a conflict. It's sadly simple, but for the love of humanity, you have to recognize wealth and capital are the foundation of our life. If you don't own natural resources or a tech company that manipulates perspectives, you're selling their objectives, and you're not even getting paid.
Wars are for money and power, but the people don't benefit. If Russia wants Ukraine's natural resources you can bet your life the West is battling for them too. I don't play "choose the less evil empire" game, but I will fight for public-owned resources.
