I see this argument a lot, oftentimes when people are trying to justify Chinese or Russian geopolitics. It’s something like “The US has done so many bad things. ____ is just doing the same thing.” Do you need someone to explain why comparisons like that are effectively useless?

It’s so dishonest and cheap I’m surprised to see it on HN and not on Reddit where it belongs, but here we are.

> Do you need someone to explain why comparisons like that are effectively useless?

> It’s so dishonest and cheap I’m surprised to see it on HN and not on Reddit where it belongs, but here we are.

The account was created to post that comment. Oddly enough similar things happen on Reddit when discussing this topic.

Mate, it’s democracy vs dictatorship. Russia didn’t invade the US, it invaded Ukraine. We would keep fighting even without US support. Freedom is non-negotiable.

If it were non-negotiable you wouldn't have compulsory conscription.

Call it non-negotiable participation. Sounds like they have tons of volunteers though

I fought mostly with the TDF and SSO - all of us were volunteers or professional military. I personally haven’t met anyone who said they were forced to fight. Except for Russian POWs who claimed they were forced.

If it wasn't for US support you wouldn't exist anymore. But on the other hand if it wasn't for US-instigated provocations the war wouldn't even have started.

Pick your friends! (Spoiler: Russia isn't your friend either)

There wasn’t much support in the very beginning - sure, some javelins and NLAWs. Whether they were the difference maker is unclear.

I see a lot of American “free thinkers” (who all think the same) push the argument that it was US provocations that lead to the war.

While there are many many many (many…) counters to that, I will let the russians themselves offer their counter. Check out Putin’s essays on Ukraine - he (and the majority of russians) hold a deep belief that Ukraine is just part of russia, and that it should be returned to russia.

As far as picking friends - who is giving military aid to help repel an aggressor, and who is killing, raping, torturing civilians?

Can you detail what you mean by "US-instigated provocation". As far as I understand the only provocation is helping show with Ukraine that ethnic/cultural Rus people can live and indeed prosper in a democratic society, so the ills of Russia are demionstrably Putin-mafia induced.

This sort of thing makes perfect sense if you somehow manage to excise from your brain the fact that Russia invaded Ukraine and no one attacked Russia. You can discount everything the US and Russia says but that fact remains.

If the US was actually fighting, they would be doing a lot more, like bombing Russia and sending the Navy to the Black Sea.

Not to mention Russia would then have to attack NATO territory, which they are carefully avoiding.

Neither the US or Russia is acting like the US is one of the sides.

> The US has lied so many times it's not even funny. I assume Russia is lying as well. So I don't believe either side.

Is there a reason you created a HN account only to post this comment? Do you have a normal account that you didn't want to use?

The citizens of Donbas voted to be Ukranian.