Quote Originally Posted by jon1959 View Post
I agree with all of that except the bit about the press 'wouldn't have needed to lie'. They always need to lie - as one of the few leading politicians with a consistent position on Russian 'mafia state' aggression Corbyn still gets abused in the mainstream press as 'Putin's puppet' because the Stop The War Coalition refuses to give NATO a free pass at the same time as denouncing Russian expansionism and war crimes. And Ukranian war crimes! The recent UN report on the Ukraine war makes clear that Russia is the main culprit, but there have been major crimes and abuses on both sides.
Great post. First of all, the disclaimer; Putin is a gangster rogue-there, that's out of the way. There is a sizeable Nazi element in Ukraine from all corners of Europe, they laugh in the face of Zelensky. The Pro russian regions have been persecuted by this mob and plenty have been beaten for just speaking Russian. Donbas has had three referendums? each one overwhelmingly in favour of Russian sovereignty, but all referendums deemed illegal. Surely it would be in the interests of Ukrainians, Russians and the rest of the planet for Ukraine to foster good trade relations between the west and Russia, and act as a buffer zone between the two regions. It makes complete sense both practically and historically. Russia didn't want it because the original trade deal with the EU was top heavy, and the west are trying to gain a foothold because they don't like the russia that Putin has put together.