Russia Today and Sputnik are great info sources.
you’re welcome to take Russia reasoning at face value, we’ll have to agree to disagree on whether that makes sense.
Their red lines were just as much unserious jokes/farces similar to Sergei lavrov declaring to the world they had no intention of invading literally right before the start of invasion. Take them at face value, everyone has the right to make their own assessment.
But Putin knew invading would strengthen nato. He didn’t care. It was never about nato.
Simple bloodlust, conquest, and imperialism?
Do you see how one line of reasoning is consistent with rational actors and the other relies pathological boogeymen?
That’s part of it.
And yes Russia use twisted pretenses about nato and nazis as boogeyman quite a lot and it works wonders judging by the way this thread is going.
I absolutely believe that had NATO stayed out of Ukraine, Russia would not have invaded.
I don't have to trust what Russia says, the facts speak for themselves. NATO declared Ukraine will be part of NATO and troops were building on the boarder within months. They said it was a red line, it was crossed, and they invaded!
The US has been invading Russian allies for decades and now they are setting up shop in Eastern Europe. What would you think if you were in their shoes?