I agree that the discussion about adding Ukraine to NATO was unnecessary and very ill advised. That does not make Putin justified in this invasion. The invasion itself is unforgivable.
Is it an invasion?
Russia moved into two specific regions, Donetsk and Luhansk, in response to a request from separatist forces. These are places already primarily under Russian control that Russia recognizes as "independent".
Russia has, so far, declared their intent not to occupy the region.
At the same time, Russia for many years has been seeking assurances from NATO that Ukraine would not be added to its members, giving the western power bloc a home on Russia's front door. NATO has rebuffed such requests.
While NATO has been refusing this security concern, The US has, since at least 2015, been seeding huge numbers of CIA agents into Ukraine (as well as bringing Ukrainian assets here to be trained) in order to conduct pro-NATO propaganda operations and other covert actions.
This represents a distinct threat to the region, from multiple angles.
For the past few weeks, CIA controlled assets under Ukrainian flags have been fighting with separatist forces in the region, while Russia had been running long-planned war exercises with Belarus, its neighbor and military partner.
Long before these exercises mounted, the US war machine began the drum beat of manufactured consent, insisting invasion was imminent.
The MSM “invasion” narrative, although very carefully crafted, does not stand up to scrutiny.
www.forbes.com
