> but after multiple warnings and casus belli about Ukraine not flirting with NATO
Putin invaded in 2014 after Ukraine deposed of their dictator over his failure to commit to EU alignment, the Nato stuff is a post-hoc excuse developed by the Russian government. This isn't about Nato it's about Putin being afraid of having working democracies next door.
> Ukraine a working democracy ?
Straw man.
Moscow is ruled by idiots. The war in Ukraine was perhaps the largest own goal of the millennium, ahead of Brexit and possibly right behind—worst case—the Iraq War.
> is it feasible for a country right next to a colossal power to have independence ?
Yes. Literally how alliances have worked since the Bronze Age.
> Straw man.
Nope. Challenge to presuppositions. The argument would be valid only if Ukraine was a threat of a "working democracy"
> Yes. Literally how alliances have worked since the Bronze Age.
Since we are now past the Bronze age could you give me a contemporary example of a small country close to the US that is practically independent and is not meddled with ?
> Moscow is ruled by idiots.
Putin might be a power hungry lunatic — like most leaders — but there is one thing that he certainly isn't, an idiot. Neither is Lavrov.
Putin lives in regret of the fall of the USSR in 1991, when he was stationed in Germany. He's bound to repeat the same.
So yes, he's an idiot.
Ps. Don't whataboutism power hungry Putin. There is literally no one worse.
https://disinfo.detector.media/en/post/how-russian-propagand...
Ukraine a working democracy ? Before the war it was one of the most corrupt countries in the European continent.
And by applying just a tiny bit of realism, is it feasible for a country right next to a colossal power to have independence ? Do all the small countries south of the US enjoy independence ?