@npub10rj8...zv9r, @nen is a Russian in the area. She's a skeptic just like you are a skeptic. Her skepticism leads her to disbelieve her country. Yours leads you to disbelieve your country. You are more similar than you think. Yes, the West provided many "reasons" for some kind of Russian defensive response: like NATO expansion, launch tubes in Poland, refusal to give assurances about Ukraine not joining NATO, pulling out of ABM treaty, INF treaty, not taking Minsk accords seriously, comments about how their goal for a long time has been to destroy Russia etc, etc. Russia has been invaded several times before and always through Ukraine. So there was a real threat and Putin didn't have any good outs -- he asked to join NATO (not believing it was really possible, but to make the point) and was refused. Pease with Russia was never something the West would allow, it was not an option. Russia was forced to be an enemy, only an enemy. But! Russia wasn't forced into invading and crushing Ukraine on many false (or at least very dubious) pretenses. I think Putin must have had other options. And many Russians have family in Ukraine and vice versa, so this isn't just some strategic move, it's devastating and horrible and very hard to think about as a simple chess game.