Russia and Ukraine flashpoint

[SecondWar]

padib said:

I have a few questions for this thread:
- Does this thread foster discourse and open discussion towards constructivism and critical exchange of ideas?
- Do you truly care about Ukrainians and their lives? If so, how much do you care inside?
- What are you hoping for Ukraine to achieve through this conflict? Does the goal justify the cost?
- Is Russia being threatened by NATO and if not explain.
- What would have happened if Ukraine had stayed neutral and refused America's influence? Speak cost of life please.
- Why do you trust the west (USA, European countries)? Do they have a track-record of being clean in the past 50 years geopolitically?
- Is hatred towards Russians during this war at this moment racism in your view, or is it somehow exempt? What is your justification for hatred, and can hatred be justified? Is it acceptable to despise a person for the country they are born in and are loyal to without knowing anything about them?
- How does this conflict lead us towards a better world?
- Are you proud of the current social fabric of the USA, Canada and European countries, the degradation of traditionally Christian values such as the traditional family, proliferation of sexual promiscuity, pornography, and media that encourages greed, egocentrism, hate, fear, deceit and blasphemy? Do you think this is a good direction for modern civilization? Is this a societal model you would like to see a traditionally orthodox Christian country like Ukraine follow? What are the implications for Ukraine's moral structure?

Please answer responsibly, millions of Ukrainians and Russians are dead due to this conflict. This means husbands leaving widows and orphans behind, lives meant for engineering, law, dentistry, medicine, business, and any other way of serving society being erased, dreams, hopes, loves, desires of bonding, wiped between a clash of superpowers.
Thank you for your time and thought.

1 Pro-Russia views are not entertained, if that’s what you mean.

2 How long is a piece of string? I support Ukraine in their struggle against the Russian invaders. 
3 Ukraine drives Russia out and reclaims all land within its internationally recognised borders. As its has a clear need for a deterrent that its can’t deliver on its own, it should subsequently be admitted to Nato.

4 No, it not. Russia uses flawed and circular logic in its justification that it is. Nato is a defensive organisation. The only way it poses a threat to Russia is if Russia were to attack a Nato member. Russia knows this but also detests that countries formerly in its sphere of influence are now Nato members. It losing that influence is something it cannot accept. Its used frozen conflicts in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to prevent such ties from developing further.

5 It would be at the mercy of Russia’s whims. It broke away from Russia’s influence in the 2014 revolution. To say Ukraine is under ‘America’s influence’ is misleading.

6 That is a fair point and certainly people do take it to far. A user has been thread banned for, amongst other things, going to far in his vitriol towards Russia and Russians. I despise Putin and his ilk and I shed no tears for any Russian who supports him, but certainly do not apply it with a broad brush to all. Plenty of Russians have pushed back and they do not deserve the same ill feelings.

7 That ultimately will depend on the outcome. If Russia wins the world certainly won’t be better for it, same if it becomes a frozen conflict. Ukraine winning would act as a check in Russia’s agenda and that certainly doesn’t seem like a bad thing to me.

8 That is a entirely tangential point that seems to do more with your complains with Western politics and religion and given I’m not a Christian it just made me cringe. No society has ever been perfect, with plenty of ills during Christianity’s heyday. I don’t know how Ukraine will develop after the war and I don’t it will become a mirror of other Western countries, certainly not overnight, but I can also see why they don’t want to go back to Russia. For one, they have a leader who is law unto himself and abuses the church as a way to legitimise himself. Not sure if that’s the sort of Christian way you’d condone.