The folks who blame the “West” for the situation in Ukraine are delusional

Actually, I don’t want to be too disrespectful to these folks. Their line of thinking is not absurd: their inquisitive minds try to rationalize the historical context — you know NATO expansion, “poking the bear”, etcetera etcetera.

The problem is that the word “rational” doesn’t apply to a corrupt state and especially siloviki, a very special species, who’ve demonstrated, for many decades, that they play by different rules — brutality, revenge, lies, war mongering, intrigues, and total lack of human empathy.

There are so many levels to this delusion.

First, you can’t justify a full-blown war — women and children killed, millions displaced, your own soldiers killed too — because maybe, maybe Ukraine might join NATO.

Were there geopolitical games and provocations? Sure, there always are and have been. It doesn’t mean you go on a murder spree and rain bombs on your “brothers”. Now calling Ukraine a brotherly nation sounds absurd. Brothers no longer, brotherly it will never be again. But that’s what it used to be.

Was Ukraine flirting with the West and not with its ex (Russia)? Sure. If you (I’m referring to Ukraine’s leadership and Ukraine collectively) have any aspirations to one day be part of the civilized world, would you try to build your future with a thug state, even if a potentially rich one, thanks to its oil, gas, and metals? Don’t get me wrong by the way — that Ukraine’s own…