And the UK. Basically, all of Zelensky's opponents are not in Ukraine.
Yes, when a country is attacked, it rallies behind its leader. That's normal human psychology. Our group is threatened, we unite. When the threat is gone,
then the internal squabbling can return. A good example of that was how Dubya Bush, which everyone held to be the stupidest POTUS ever and half the country thought had stolen the election through his brother's shenanigans in Florida, was triumphantly re-elected thanks to 9/11.
So your idea that Ukraine is not a democracy because everyone currently supports Zelinsky is not the slam dunk you think it is. When Russia stops killing Ukrainian civilians for fun, then we'll take another look. In the meantime, Russia is a police state dictatorship where contradicting the regime's talking points is deemed a worse criminal offense than murder (15 years of jail vs. 10...). Stop trying to equivocate.
The fact that he survived doesn't mean a war crime wasn't committed.
Your idea that a war crime was committed rests entirely on the assumption that attempting to kill an enemy soldier on the field of battle, while he is active and not surrendering, is a war crime. Since this is completely wrong, you are completely wrong.
No, you guys are so rabidly anti-Russian that I have to take a stand against it. I am not pro-Russia, I am more anti-your opinion, a contrarian.
So you support Russia just because you want to annoy Europeans.
It is no big deal because you have done it too. It's become par for the course.
So you keep claiming, without ever substantiating this claim.
No, but America can, using Ukr soil.
And Martians could land in Belarus and invade Russia!!!!
It gets worse if those "anti-missile defences" that Ukr will eventually get also come with nuclear warheads. That will put nuclear weapons on Russia's doorstep. And we all know a SAM can also act as a BM.
How many nuclear-tipped missile defense systems are there in Poland or Romania right now? Has NATO nuclear sharing ever been extended to new countries since the NPT?
Heck, how many nuclear-tipped SAMs are there in America? Not talking about long-retired systems like the Sprint, Spartan, or Nike. I'm talking stuff that exists now, is in use now, is part of doctrine now, and has not been abandoned as a terrible idea before you were even born.
Russian claims are bullshit. As usual.
We had argued this a long time ago. Even if there was no war, it would take 30+ years for Ukr to have the same lifestyle as the Russians.
Poland's per capita income PPP is $41K, Russia's is $31K and Ukraine's is/was $14K. Ukraine would have to grow 2 or 3 times faster than Russia to eventually catch up maybe 40-50 years down the line. By then Russia would have caught up with the West in living standards, thereby rendering your argument moot.
Having a GDP growing ten times faster by Russia is really easy, you just need not to be a corrupt hellhole of a country. Good thing is, Ukrainians want their country not to be a corrupt hellhole. This has greatly upset Putin, because corruption is the only tool Russia has to keep their former colonies into their sphere of influence. Russia's GDP growth goes directly into the oligarch's pockets, outside of he handful of big cities, Russia is still less developed than a poor third world country. Russia will never catch up with the West in living standards. The country's economy is not designed for that.
In fact, that's where just looking at the numbers blinds you to the reality. The reality is that the Ukrainians were already matching, and even exceeding, the living standards of Russia. You have to really understand how massive inequality is in Russia. Sure, the western-most parts of Russia are relatively prosperous, near the big cities. But as soon as you get away from those, it's abject poverty everywhere. All the money is concentrated in just a few pockets.
A frequent cause of Russian brutality against Ukrainian populations was caused by jealousy at just how prosperous the Ukrainians were for these Russian soldiers from underdeveloped regions.
Ukraine never had a chance at joining the EU simply because the population would have migrated to the EU. You wanna bet? Mexico's PPP per capita is $21000, but if the US opens up its border, pretty much the entire country will empty into the US.
The phenomenon exists but you greatly exaggerate it. This has happened to every formerly Soviet-satellite country that joined the EU, a lot have emigrated to the West for higher paying jobs, but the countries are not emptied. And there's very rapid economic growth as the countries rapidly catch up with the average.
(GDP per capita at purchasing power parity, the 2008 dip is caused by the subprime crisis if you forgot about it)
Ukrainians are smart, they're very good with maths and IT, they'd be able to create a lot of business at home.
So the politics involving this war is far deeper than simply economics or the EU. It's a very carefully planned action against Russia spanning decades.
Of course! Everything is a conspiracy of the Reptilians from Tau Ceti!
Nope, sorry. The reason Russia sucks is because of Russia. Specifically, because Russia is a dictatorial police state run by criminals. If you want "a carefully planned action against Russia spanning decades", then look at the FSB's plotting to seize control of Russia.
Stalin never sided with the Nazis.
Tell that to the Poles.
