Debunking attempts to rationalize Putin’s war

Before I start the main part of this story, let’s all be clear about this fact: it’s absolutely unambiguous that Russia is the side that started the war in Ukraine; for more than three weeks now it’s purposefully causing death to tens of thousands; ruining livelihoods of millions. Even if there are attempts to “unvilify” Putin’s motivations, or even if the West “should’ve paid more attention” to Putin’s concerns, Russia’s aggressor role is now forever cemented in history.

Now, let’s look at the most common theme used to rationalize Putin’s war. By the way, by no means am I an expert in international politics or the science of war. I have my biases, but I do try to listen to different sides of the story.

A disclaimer: some of the below has been borrowed from a blog by Andrei Movchan.

Ukraine via its potential NATO membership is an existential threat to Russia

Before we move onto NATO, look at the military balance (disbalance rather) between Ukraine and Russia (source CNN; similar information can be found in many other sources).

It’s a very transparent situation: Russia’s offensive and defensive capabilities are vastly superior. Perhaps, there is a better way to put it for the purpose of this story: Ukraine’s offensive potential against Russia is vastly inferior. It…